Moray Council has set the date of the most rapidly required by-election in Scotland, following the shock resignation of a newly elected member.
Elgin City North councillor, Sandy Cooper, decided the job “wasn’t for him” after just four days.
Mr Cooper won more than 532 first-preference votes in the ward, after complaining about the local authority “wasting taxpayer money” on his campaign leaflets.
The red-faced 72-year-old apologised to his supporters for “letting them down” after handing in his resignation letter on Wednesday morning.
Furious council officials later confirmed that staging a by-election to fill the vacated seat would cost £25,000.
Yesterday, it was revealed that the by-election would take place on Thursday, July 13.
Nominations will open on Friday, May 26, and close at 4pm on Monday, June 12.
The count, which will be carried out manually, will take place at Elgin Town Hall on Friday, July 14.
Mr Cooper’s decision to stand down followed mounting criticism of his “unethical” campaign promises.
Moray’s Labour group raised a complaint that his pledge to donate £5,000 from his council pay packet to schools in his ward was akin to bribery.
The Labour group promised to monitor Mr Cooper’s dealings to see if he followed through on the commitment.
Members were left “incandescent” when Mr Cooper subsequently quit as they believe his election victory cost their representative, Nick Taylor, a seat.
It is understood that Mr Taylor is likely to contest the forthcoming by-election for Labour.
The SNP and Conservative groups have also announced their intention to field candidates.
