Scottish referendum counters relieved of their duties for improper behaviour
Four members of a Highland Council staff counting ballot cards for the Scottish referendum were replaced because they booed ‘no’ votes and celebrated pro-independence votes.
The incident is alleged to have taken place during the count at Dingwall for Highland County on 18 September, when a number of staff members were asked to stand down following complaints of “inappropriate behaviour”, a council spokesperson said.
“Complaints were made about a count staff team of four people at the referendum count in Dingwall and as a result the team were stood down and replaced,” a spokesperson for the Highland counting officer was quoted as saying by The Independent.
According to BBC News, Labour and Liberal Democrat party agents made a joint complaint to the counting officer.
Some members of the counting staff were seen high-fiving each other when they opened ‘yes’ ballot cards and they were heard booing when ‘no’ votes came up, the BBC reported.
The council spokesperson refused to elaborate over whether the counters involved in the matter would receive further disciplinary action, saying that the council “does not comment on personnel matters”.
The result from Highland was the latest to be declared across Scotland and it arrived only after the success of the pro-union campaign had already been confirmed on the morning of 19 September.
The count stood at 87,739 ‘no’ votes and 78,069 votes in favour of an independent Scotland.