Voters in Perth will head to polling places across the city today as a pair of crucial council byelections are held.
Residents will be voting for successors to former councillors Dave Doogan and Bob Band in Perth City North and Perth City South.
The north contest is for a third representative to cover Letham, Tulloch, the Western Edge, Fairfield and Inveralmond, while in the south, locals will be voting for an Oakbank, Burghmuir and Craigie councillor.
The SNP are looking to defend both seats.
The north role was vacated at the beginning of 2020 following group leader Dave Doogan’s election as MP for Angus.
The byelection in the south was forced following the death of council stalwart Bob Band after a long battle with cancer.
The party is fielding candidates Ian Massie and Iain MacPherson.
The Conservatives, who currently govern the local authority with a minority administration, are looking add new faces to their ranks and strengthen their decision-making power. The Tories’ candidates are Aziz Rehman and Andy Chan.
The Liberal Democrats are looking to add another representative in the south of the city and pick up their first in the north, putting forward Liz Barrett and James Graham respectively.
For Labour, Nicola Ferry is standing in Perth City North and Tricia Duncan is on the ballot in Perth South.
Elspeth MacLachlan and Paul Vallot are standing on behalf of the Scottish Greens and Lynda Davis is standing in Perth South for Ukip.
The twin byelections will be the third and fourth since the last local elections were held in full across Scotland, and the second in Perth City South.
Polls are open from 7am to 10pm and ID is not required to vote.
Polling staff can limit the number of people inside the premises at a time if needed to ensure safe distancing. Voters will be asked to stay 2m apart and wear a face covering.
Additional cleaning regiments will be in place and if you are self-isolating, emergency proxy votes can be arranged online.
Counting will begin on Friday morning at Perth’s Dewars Centre and formal announcements are likely to be made later in the day.
