ALMOST 35,000 people will be entitled to vote in the Scottish Labour leadership contest, after an influx of around 4000 new members and union affiliates.
The party’s latest figures show it has 24,096 members, 10,760 people registered as supporters through affiliated trade unions, and 83 individual registered supporters.
Around 150 people have been asked to provide further evidence before being allowed to vote in the membership section.
Scottish Labour had around 21,500 members and 9500 affiliated supporters when Kezia Dugdale quit as its leader at the end of August.
Both candidates have been actively recruiting new electors for the ballot.
The super union Unite tried to recruit thousands of affiliate supporters on behalf of its preferred choice, the left-winger Richard Leonard.
Anas Sarwar’s campaign, which inherited the legendary “Sarwar machine” created by his father, former MP Mohammad Sarwar, has also focused intensely on getting new sign-ups.
Both sides have sniped at each other other the legitimacy of the process.
Mr Sarwar's supporters have accused Unite of trying to skew the ballot, while Mr Leonard's side have carped about multiple members with the same email and contact details.
Both sides deny any wrongdoing.
Sources in Mr Sarwar’s campaign said they were happy with the latest figures, as there were fewer new trade union affiliates than they expected.
Affiliates also have a poorer voting record than members.
In the 2016 UK leadership contest between Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith, turnout among members was 82.3 per cent, but just 55.4 per cent among affiliates.
However the wave of new members also includes many people who would ordinarily have paid a one-off fee to become registered supporters - a group more favourable to Mr Leonard.
As the fee was the same price as a membership, many of this group have become members instead, so the new membership are a mixed bag for both candidates.
Mr Sarwar said: “It's incredibly encouraging that thousands of people have joined Scottish Labour to vote in this contest.
“People across the country have been enthused by our positive campaign to put Labour values at the heart of Scotland's future, including support for permanent UK membership of the EU single market, radical policies to tackle child poverty, and a detailed re-distributive proposal for fairer income tax.
“I urge all members and supporters to have their say before the end of the contest."
A spokesperson for Mr Leonard's campaign said: "We are busy concentrating on the issues, engaging with members and setting out policies that will take the Labour Party forward in Scotland."
The result will be declared on November 18.
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