Sections 12 to 16: Vacancy in the office of the Mayor
66.Sections 12 to 16 deal with vacancies in the office of Mayor and are broadly similar to the provisions for vacancies in Assembly membership. In the case of the Mayor, however, the provision in section 13 where the mayor ceases to be a member on account of a failure to attend meetings relates to a failure on six consecutive occasions to attend the meetings of the Assembly held under section 52(2).
67.A mayoral vacancy is filled by an election held on the same basis as an ordinary election unless it occurs in the six months preceding the next ordinary election. In that case the office of Mayor is to be left unfilled and the deputy Mayor or the Chair of the Assembly will act as Mayor until the next ordinary election.