A review of Croydon LBC’s 2022 elections has backed chief executive Katherine Kerswell’s handling of the delayed result but said some criticism was ‘justified’.
As the returning officer, Ms Kerswell was heavily criticised after results for the Thursday 5 May election were not fully declared until Sunday 8 May.
The review, which was commissioned by Ms Kerswell before she removed herself from oversight to protect the integrity of the process, concluded the ‘outcome of the verification and count of the votes cast for the 2022 borough wards and executive mayor was transparent, safe and secure’.
Returning officer at Southampton City Council and elections spokesperson for senior officers’ group Solace, Mark Heath, and Robert Curtis, a former chair of the Association of Electoral Administrators, were tasked with overseeing the review.
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