NI: Ex-prisons chief to oversee polls
A former senior Prisons Service official is to take charge of the running of elections in Northern Ireland, it was confirmed today.
Douglas Bain has been chosen to replace Denis Stanley as Northern Ireland’s Chief Electoral Officer following his retirement on March 31, the British government announced.
Mr Bain held a number of posts in the public and private sector in Scotland where he was called to the bar in 1973.
He moved to the Northern Ireland Office in 1998 where he was appointed as director of services with the Prison Service in 2000.
The new electoral chief is married and deeply involved in equestrian sport, both as a competitor and an administrator.
Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain welcomed Mr Bain’s appointment but also paid tribute to Mr Stanley’s five years in the role.
“I am delighted that we have found someone of Douglas Bain’s calibre to succeed Denis Stanley,” he said.
“I pay tribute to the work of Denis Stanley, who has served Northern Ireland as Chief Electoral Officer for five years with commitment and integrity.
“He has overseen the conduct of numerous major elections, and his tenure has witnessed the introduction of significant reforms to the electoral registration system in Northern Ireland which have seen the accuracy of the register significantly enhanced.
“He has also been an architect of the detailed proposals to further reform and modernise the electoral registration arrangements in Northern Ireland, which currently are being taken forward in the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill.
“I wish him well in his retirement.”
