General elections to the Scottish Parliament are held every four years. There are a total of 129 elected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) - 73 of which are constituency members elected using the first-past-the-post system. The remaining 56 are regional members who are elected using the party list system.
Instructions and guidance for combined polls on 5 May 2011
The Chief Counting Officer issued instructions for running the UK referendum on 5 May 2011. We also published guidance for those administering elections scheduled for the same day.
Forms
We also published the wording for all forms required by electoral administrators to enable people to cast their vote. Our materials include PDF examples and instructions on how forms should be designed.
Search all our documents
Questions
If you have any queries relating to Scottish Parliamentary elections, please contact your nearest Electoral Commission office or your local Returning Officer.
Guidance issued for past elections
Access guidance issued for 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election...
On 3 May 2007, elections to the Scottish Parliament took place alongside elections to each of Scotland's 32 councils. We produced:
- guidance products for use by Returning Officers, electoral administrators and support staff
- information for candidates and agents
Guidance for Returning Officers
We produced a guidance manual for Returning Officers and electoral administrators to assist with particular points of practice and procedure in the running of the combined Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections on 3 May 2007. The Commission has no role in providing guidance for local government elections in Scotland; the advice relating to local government elections was included at the request of the Scottish Executive.
Guidance for Returning Officers - Part A - Context (PDF)
Guidance for Returning Officers - Part B - Preparing for the elections (PDF)
Guidance for Returning Officers - Part C - Action before the poll (PDF)
Guidance for Returning Officers - Part D - Absent voting (PDF)
Guidance for Returning Officers - Part E - The poll (PDF)
Guidance for Returning Officers - Part F - The count (PDF)
Guidance for Returning Officers - Part G - After the declaration of results (PDF)
Guidance for candidates and agents
We produced the following document for candidates and agents contesting elections to the Scottish Parliament on 3 May 2007:
Guidance for candidates and agents: Scottish Parliamentary elections, May 2007 (PDF)
