| Election Name: | 1988 Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council election |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1984 Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council election |
| Previous Year: | 1984 |
| Next Election: | 1992 Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council election |
| Next Year: | 1992 |
| Seats For Election: | All 10 seats to Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council |
| Majority Seats: | 6 |
| Registered: | 33,664 |
| Turnout: | 52.6% |
| Image1: | Lab |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Seats1: | 8 |
| Seat Change1: | 2 |
| Popular Vote1: | 7,655 |
| Percentage1: | 61.3% |
| Swing1: | 8.9 |
| Party2: | Independent Labour |
| Seats2: | 1 |
| Seat Change2: | 1 |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,399 |
| Percentage2: | 11.3% |
| Swing2: | 2.1 |
| Image3: | SDP |
| Party3: | Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990) |
| Seats3: | 1 |
| Seat Change3: | 1 |
| Popular Vote3: | 1,163 |
| Percentage3: | 9.4% |
| Swing3: | New |
| Council Leader | |
| Before Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Posttitle: | Council Leader after election |
| After Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
Elections to Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council were held on 5 May 1988, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the fifth election to the district council following the local government reforms in the 1970s.
The election used the 10 wards created by the Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1981. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.[1]
Labour maintained a large majority on the district council after winning eight of the 10 seats although four wards were uncontested after only Labour stood a candidate. Labour's vote share fell by 8.9% as they lost two seats from previous election in 1984. The newly formed Social Democratic Party (SDP) won a seat in Cumnock and Doon Valley for the first time – their only seat in Scotland at the 1988 elections – and the remaining seat was won by Independent Labour.