A RECALL petition following the suspension of former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier from the House of Commons is to begin on Tuesday, June 20.
South Lanarkshire Council has confirmed constituents in Rutherglen and Hamilton West will be able to sign the petition from this date until Monday, July 31.
If 10% of the electorate vote to remove Ferrier as an MP, a by-election will be triggered.
A recall petition has never happened before in Scotland and has only occurred twice in the UK since the procedure was introduced in 2015.
MPs voted to suspend Ferrier from the Commons for 30 days by 185 votes to 40 on Tuesday for breaking Covid rules in 2020 by travelling on a train from London to Scotland while she had the virus.
Fourteen members of the SNP group – including Westminster group leader Stephen Flynn and his deputy Mhairi Black – voted for Ferrier's suspension. In total, 128 Labour MPs backed it.
Just 28 Tory MPs voted to suspend Ferrier, while 32 of them opposed the punishment. Other MPs to vote against the suspension came from the DUP and Alba.
Those wishing to sign the petition will be allocated a petition place similar to a polling place. These locations have not yet been released but the council has said it is likely there will be seven spread across the area.
It is understood details of the signing places will be revealed later this week.
People who wish to sign the petition will need photo ID such as a driving licence or passport due to recent rule changes. A full list of acceptable documentation is available on the Electoral Commission website.
Anyone in the area who is registered as a postal voter will receive the petition signing sheet by post with the same arrangements as for a postal vote.
They will be required to return a statement with their date of birth and signature and that will be verified before the signing sheet is opened.
