ALBA face the risk of being legally unable to stand candidates at next year’s Holyrood election because of a bitter dispute with a former senior party member, the Sunday National can reveal.
The party is locked in a battle with its nominating officer, Chris McEleny, who was expelled earlier this year.
He is currently pursuing an unlawful dismissal case against Alba, after he was sacked from his job as general secretary for "gross misconduct".
Despite his expulsion from the party, he retains his role as the person who approves candidates.
In a statement, McEleny (below) said: “I can confirm that I am still the party’s nominating officer.
“As you will be aware, for an election candidate to stand for a political party – ie use a political party description and/or emblem – they require the authorisation of the party’s nominating officer.
“I informed the party, in detail, in April of this year of the steps it had to take in order to change a registered party officer, as well as having consulted colleagues at the Electoral Commission on the matter.
“No action was taken by the Alba Party in the five months after I explained to them the simple steps they were required to take.”
For McEleny to be expelled as nominating officer, he must be sent a letter signed by all other officer bearers asking him to relinquish the role, which he must sign and send back to the party.
The Sunday National understands that McEleny was sent a blank document, which he was asked to sign, which he refused to do.
The Electoral Commission’s website says that it is “unlikely to consider that an officer is unable to sign a form if they are simply unwilling to do so”.
If the party is able to stand candidates at next year’s Holyrood election, there are questions about where leader Kenny MacAskill could stand.
It is thought he had been aiming to plant his flag on his late predecessor Alex Salmond’s (below) turf in the North East region, however, the former first minister’s niece Christina Hendry is also hoping to be top of Alba’s list in that area.
He had represented East Lothian in the last Westminster parliament, but aiming for a Lothians regional seat in Holyrood could scupper any ambitions former MP Neale Hanvey has of returning to frontline politics.
MacAskill would face the same issues in Glasgow and in the Highlands and Islands if Tommy Sheridan and Angus Brendan MacNeil chose to stand as list candidates in those regions.
An Alba spokesperson told the Sunday National: “The former general secretary has been dismissed for gross misconduct and subsequently expelled from the party.
“We must also note that despite repeated requests from the party and indeed the Electoral Commission, he has refused to sign the requisite documentation. As a result, this matter is currently in the hands of a lawyer and the Electoral Commission. Therefore, we have no further comment on this issue.
“We are firmly focused on the future and are looking forward to our conference in October.
“We anticipate an interesting and well-attended event where we will affirm our commitment to fight the 2026 election on the urgent need to seek and secure a mandate for independence with a strong team of highly experienced and high-calibre individuals.”
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said: "The Electoral Commission informed Mr McEleny of the requirements for replacing the party nominating officer when he was no longer employed by the Alba Party.
"The commission were also in contact with the Alba Party after the submission of an application to replace Mr McEleny as nominating officer. The commission wrote to the party to explain we could not accept the form as it was submitted without Mr McEleny's signature, as per the requirements that are set out in electoral law."
