Alex Fergusson elected Scottish presiding officer
Alex Fergusson has been elected Scottish presiding officer
Monday, 14, May 2007 12:00
Holyrood has elected Conservative MSP Alex Fergusson as the new presiding officer of the Scottish parliament.
The MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale faced a last minute challenge from Holyrood's only independent MSP, Margo MacDonald. She announced her candidacy a mere hour before voting began and lost by 20 to 108 votes.
The Scottish parliament will now elect two MSPs as deputy presiding officers.
Mr Fergusson expressed sadness over the politically neutral nature of the role, telling parliament: "I will, like my predecessors, reluctantly suspend my party allegiance for as long as I serve in this office.
"Let us all remember that our electorate, the people of Scotland, want this new politics to work for them and we have a duty to deliver what the electorate expects," he continued.
Mr Fergusson, 58, was a farmer before his election to parliament, and became Conservative spokesman on agriculture and forestry. He was re-elected to his second term in office in the recent elections.
The previous presiding officer George Reid told parliament: "You have just elected a decent and honourable man to head this house."
"He brings real qualities to [the] task, a farmer rooted in his native soil, experienced in shepherding his flock in all weathers," Mr Reid said.
Mr Reid is retiring from politics at the age of 67, having represented both Mid Scotland and Fife and Ochil since 1999.
The presiding officer must remain politically neutral in all duties, giving all members' interests equal weight and acting on their behalf. The role is not dissimilar to that of the speaker in the UK parliament, including keeping good order, the selection of motions and amendments to be taken, ruling on points of order, and deciding on speakers and the length of their speeches.
The election comes as it was revealed that Ron Gould, former assistant chief electoral officer of Canada, will lead an independent inquiry into the 140,000 rejected ballots which marred the results of the Scottish parliamentary and council elections earlier this month. His credentials appear to be impeccable, having participated in over 100 election observations in more than 70 countries.
The review will focus on whether it was wise to hold parliamentary and local government polls on the same day, as well as their combination on one ballot paper.
Whatever the results of the inquiry, Annabel Goldie, leader of the Conservatives, has today said the party will introduce a bill proposing that parliamentary and council elections are held on different days.