A Greenwich Council by-election scheduled to take place on April 9 could be postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

It comes as the Electoral Commission confirmed on Thursday afternoon that it had written to Minister for the Constitution and Devolution Chloe Smith, requesting the Greater London Assembly and Mayoral elections scheduled for May 7 be postponed due to concerns over Covid-19, widely referred to as the Coronavirus.

Voters in Greenwich’s Gylndon ward are due to hit the polls next month to find a replacement for Labour’s Tonia Ashikodi, who resigned last week after being given a two-year suspended sentence after she was found guilty of property fraud.

However, that could now be delayed if the commission’s request is granted.

In their letter, the Electoral Commission request both the May elections and interim by-elections be postponed, with the polling body saying it couldn’t be sure that voters would be able to participate “safely and confidently”.

“Clearly any decisions to delay elections which are due is significant and would not normally be desirable; however, we are in unprecedented times,” the commission wrote.

“The risks to delivery that have been identified are such that we cannot be confident that voters will be able to participate in the polls safely and confidently, nor that campaigners and parties will be able to put their case to the electorate.

“We therefore call on the Government to take steps to provide early clarity to all those with an interest in the electoral process; and on the available information and position we recommend the Government now delay the 7 May polls until the autumn.

“In this context we are also mindful that the Chief Executives of local authorities and their staff across the country are necessarily focussed on the ongoing management of the impacts Covid-19 is having on their localities.

“Similar impacts could also be expected to affect the effective delivery of by-elections during the intervening period, and we would hope that this could also be addressed at the same time by providing that these could also be deferred

Greenwich Council has been contacted for their response.