Voting for new Scottish Green leaders gets under way

Scottish Green Party members will begin voting for the party’s new leadership from Wednesday.

The ballot to replace the current team of co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater will be open until August 22, with the results set to be published a week later on August 29.

Lorna Slater is seeking re-election to her role alongside MSPs Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay.

Dominic Ashmole, a Holyrood Greens candidate, will also be on the ticket following a late bid for the leadership.

Harvie, who has led the party since 2008, has said he will remain an MSP despite deciding to step down as co-leader.

PA Media

The contest has been marred with bouts of infighting, including a campaign to knock Harvie off the party’s list for the next Scottish Parliament election.

And just days ago, Greer – a rising star in the party since his entry to Holyrood at the age of 21 in 2016 – said bullying by fellow Greens members had put him in hospital on two occasions with stress.

The party also suffered from a “software error” that forced it to re-issue its candidate selection for the next election.

PA Media

A glitch from a third-party firm used to process the election results led to issues in the count, causing a party election official to stand down.

Some eyebrows were also raised when serving MSP Maggie Chapman failed to secure the top regional list spot in the north east for the party.

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