Green candidate replaced by rival who complained about him
FacebookA leading Green election candidate has been suspended from the party after a complaint from a rival candidate, who then took his place.
Guy Ingerson was due to top the regional list for the party in the North East of Scotland in May. But he was dropped on Monday due to an unresolved complaint against him.
BBC Scotland News understands that one of the individuals who submitted the complaint against him was Maggie Chapman, who will now take Ingerson's place at the top of the list. This is despite there also being an outstanding complaint against her.
The Scottish Greens rejected claims that the process was unfair.
The party expects to elect one MSP for the North East region at the Scottish election in May - meaning the lead candidate is likely to secure a place at Holyrood.
In something of an upset, Ingerson topped a vote of party members last summer. He defeated Chapman, a sitting MSP in the region.
PA MediaIngerson previously worked for Chapman, and it is understood the pair are not on good terms.
The Scottish Green's Elections and Campaigns Committee recently received separate requests for both candidates to be re-vetted to check their suitability as candidates.
Due to the unresolved complaint from Chapman, made last October, Ingerson was denied the status of "approved candidate".
Chapman passed this vetting despite there also being an outstanding complaint about her. That complaint came from Ingerson and another Green member.
'Bullying, lies and smears'
It was announced on Monday that Ingerson was dropped as a candidate, just two days before the close of nominations for the Holyrood elections on 7 May.
Each Green candidate on the North East list therefore moves up one place, meaning that Chapman secured the position of lead candidate.
Ingerson posted on social media that there had been a "two-year long campaign of bullying, lies, rumours and smears designed to stop my candidacy".
He also alleged the system had been "abused" and called for reform of the party's complaints process.
A Green source told BBC Scotland that this was not the only complaint that had been made against Guy Ingerson.
They added that any complaint against a candidate would be judged in isolation.
The Scottish Greens are hoping for their best election result ever at the upcoming Holyrood election, but have suffered bouts of infighting recently.
A Scottish Green spokesperson said: "Guy Ingerson is suspended from the Scottish Greens following unresolved complaints.
"Following completion of the party's vetting process, he will not be nominated as a candidate for the Scottish Greens for the upcoming Holyrood election. We reject his characterisation of our processes and party officers.
"The lead candidate for the North East will be Maggie Chapman with a top-up selection meeting taking place with members to determine the final list."
Both Chapman and Ingerson were approached for comment.
