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Elections

Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections

The last elections to the Scottish Parliament took place on 3 May 2007. Elections were held in each of the 73 constituencies and eight Parliamentary regions. This resulted in the election of 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament.

Alongside elections to the Scottish Parliament, elections were also held for each of Scotland's 32 councils on 3 May 2007. All 1,222 council seats in Scotland were subject to an election. For more information visit background to the Scottish elections 2007.

We collate official election results from Returning Officers. Pending these being available, visit the BBC website Scottish Parliament election results page

The ballot papers used at the Scottish elections followed the format shown in these examples. In certain regions the format of the Parliamentary paper was varied to accommodate a large number of parties / individual candidates on the regional list.

Vote Scotland website

Further information on the elections is available on votescotland.com.

We produced comprehensive guidance for candidates and agents at the Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections.

Other useful guidance and legislation

elections to the Scottish Parliament are governed by Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2007.
elections to Scottish local government are governed by the Scottish Local Government Elections Order 2007 and by the Representation of the People Act 1983, as amended
the Order listing the county and burgh constituencies in Scotland
a timetable of the key dates underpinning the 3 May 2007 Scottish elections
how to register a political party: guidance and forms
party campaign expenditure guidance
hustings guidance on including public meeting costs in election expenses
royal Mail and Freepost guidance
information Commissioner's Guidance on Promotion of a Political Party and Telephone Marketing
managing the Scottish Parlimentary and local government elections: guidance for Returning Officers
a Handbook for polling station staff
the Scottish Parliamentary elections doubtful ballot papers placemat
the Local government elections doubtful ballot papers placemat
the Dealing with doubtful ballot papers booklet

Questions?

If you have any queries, you should refer to your Returning Officer in the first instance. Visit VoteScotland.com for the contact details of your local authority.

Alternatively, contact us:

For all other issues, please contact our Scotland Office on 0131 225 0200 or infoscotland@electoralcommission.org.uk.

Equal access to electoral procedures

We have published guidance on Equal access to electoral procedures, which provides electoral administrators with good practice guidance to ensure equal access for disabled people and people whose first language is not English.

In preparing for the Scottish elections in 2003, we also sought to adopt the clear print guidelines developed by the Royal National Institute of the Blind in order to make the election more easily accessible to everyone. More information can be found on the RNIB website.