A crofter from the island of Coll has been elected as the new convener of the Crofting Commission.
Colin Kennedy, who was elected a commissioner for the south-west Highlands in 2012, steps up to the role from the post of vice-convener.
He was elected during a secret ballot of commissioners and will stay in post until March 31, 2017.
Appointments would normally be made by government, however the crofting minister, Aileen McLeod, allowed commissioners to elect a convener and vice-convener as the vacancy of convener appeared during the term of a commissioner.
The vacancy arose following the resignation of Susan Walker from the post in May this year – this followed an alleged vote of no confidence from fellow commissioners.
Commissioners also elected Skye crofter Ian George MacDonald, who serves as a commissioner for the west Highlands, to the role of vice-convener.
The appointments were “cautiously welcomed” by the Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) which warned there was a long way to go to restore confidence in the commission.
The body’s vice-chairman, Russell Smith, said: “Crofters welcomed the fact that the new commission had a majority of elected commissioners when it took over the regulation of crofting in 2012. So, it is even more disappointing that the fracas that led to Ms Walker’s resignation was allowed to happen.
“The fact that there have been no reasons given for the alleged vote of no confidence or that there has been no visible attempt to deal with the commissioner who breached the code of conduct by going to the press, leaves a bad smell. There are, understandably, questions still about how the commission operates. It is for the new convener to rectify this.”
He said there were some “very experienced and competent people” working at the commission and the SCF hoped they would be able to “pick up the pieces”.
“It is the intention of the SCF to continue to work closely with the commission for the furtherance of crofting,” he added.