Portsmouth City Council’s chief executive has been appointed to oversee the administration of the Mayoral elections planned for May 2026.
The four upper-tier authorities have agreed that Natalie Brahma-Pearl is appointed as the Combined County Authority Returning Officer (CCARO).
The CCARO will be personally responsible for administering the Mayoral poll and will coordinate its delivery with Local Returning Officers in each of the fourteen local authority areas.
The CCARO’s duties also include preparing, printing, and posting an Election Address Booklet to all registered electors in the combined county authority area.
The booklet will contain campaign statements provided by the mayoral candidates, along with general voting information provided by the CCARO.
So far, the current Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones (Con), and the Winchester City Council leader, Martin Tod (Lib Dem), have been selected as candidates for their respective parties.
The Labour candidate is due to be revealed on November 7.
The Reform and Green parties are also expected to put forward candidates.
Mayoral elections are one key part of the fast-track to devolution, which involves transferring powers from Westminster to Hampshire and the Solent region, alongside additional funding and investment.
As part of the government’s priority programme, work is ongoing to create a new mayoral combined county authority (MCCA) for Hampshire and the Solent.
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