Guidance for Returning Officers administering a Scottish Parliament election

As CRO you are responsible for all aspects of the nominations process at the constituency contest and for the conduct of the poll for both the constituency contest and that part of the regional contest that falls within your constituency. The RRO is responsible for the nominations process at the regional contest. It is important to raise awareness of the availability of information for those wishing to stand for election through the provision of briefings and online or printed guidance, especially for those who have not made direct contact with you or your staff.

When providing information or briefing sessions about the nomination process you should ensure you include information on:

• relevant deadlines
• submission rules
• the use of commonly used names
• the completion of nomination papers
• the use of party names, descriptions and emblems
• the methods for paying the deposit
• any informal checking process arrangements you have in place

Questions of eligibility or disqualification are for the candidate only and you should not give advice on such matters. The candidate should be directed to our guidance for candidates and agents in the first instance. Should they have any further concerns, you should advise them to seek their own legal advice.

If you are not also the RRO, you should also liaise with the RRO to determine what information on local processes they will require for sharing with parties, candidates and agents and to agree how this information should be disseminated.

Nomination packs – Constituency contest

You should prepare a nomination pack for any person who expresses an interest in standing in the constituency contest.

The nomination pack for the constituency contest should contain:

• a nomination form 
• a consent to nomination form
• a form for the candidate (or someone on their behalf) to give notice of appointment of an election agent
• forms for the election agent to give notice of appointment of a sub-agent
• forms for the candidate or election agent to give notice of appointment of polling agents, postal voting agents and counting agents
• a certificate of authorisation to allow a candidate to stand on behalf of a registered political party
• a form for a candidate standing on behalf of a registered political party to request the use of an emblem
• details of how the deposit should be paid, including information on acceptable methods of payment
• written guidance for candidates and agents covering key aspects of the electoral process, including the qualifications and disqualifications for election, the nominations process, campaigning dos and don’ts, accessing electoral proceedings and what happens after the declaration of the result
• details of any local arrangements, such as the arrangements for the opening of postal votes, the poll and the count 
• a copy of the Code of conduct which sets out what is, and is not, considered acceptable behaviour at polling stations and in the community
• details of how to obtain a copy of the electoral register and the absent voters lists, and forms to make such requests with information on where to send these requests to. You should highlight that the information contained in the electoral register and absent voting list may only be used in accordance with the relevant regulations and data protection legislation
• information on the spending limit for candidates and parties at the election and guidance for candidates and agents on spending and donations
• a form for a candidate to withdraw from the contest if they decide to do so after they have been validly nominated
• any other relevant information

For more information see our guidance for candidates and agents at a Scottish Parliament election.

We have produced a set of nomination papers for the constituency contest that contains all the forms needed for nomination.

You can find the Constituency nominations papers in the planning section of our resources page.

Nomination packs – Regional contest

If you are also the RRO, you should prepare a nomination pack for any person or registered political party who expresses an interest in standing in the regional contest.

The nomination pack for registered political parties submitting a list of candidates should contain:

• a nomination form
• consent to nomination forms (to be completed by each candidate on the regional party list)
• a form to give notice of appointment of an election agent by the registered party or someone on their behalf
• forms to give notice of appointment of a sub-agent by the election agent
• forms to give notice of appointment of polling agents, postal voting agents and counting agents by the election agent
• a certificate of authorisation for a Nominating Officer or someone on their behalf to authorise candidates to use the party’s name, or the name and a description
• a form to request the use of a registered emblem
• details of how the deposit should be paid, including information on acceptable methods of payment
• written guidance for parties, candidates and agents covering key aspects of the electoral process, including the qualifications and disqualifications for election, the nominations process, campaigning dos and don’ts, accessing electoral proceedings and what happens after the declaration of the result
• details of any local arrangements for each constituency in the region, such as the arrangements for the opening of postal votes, the poll and the count  
• a copy of the Code of conduct which sets out what is, and is not, considered acceptable behaviour at polling stations and in the community
• details of how to obtain a copy of the electoral register and the absent voters lists for each constituency in the region, and forms to make such requests with information on where to send these request forms to. You should highlight that the information contained in the electoral register and absent voting list may only be used in accordance with the with the relevant regulations and data protection legislation
• information on the spending limit for candidates and parties at the election and guidance for candidates and agents on spending and donations and guidance for political parties on spending and donations
• a form for a registered party to withdraw any or all of their candidates from the contest if they decide to do so after they have been validly nominated
• any other relevant information

The nomination pack for individual regional candidates should contain:

• a nomination form 
• a consent to nomination form
• a form for the candidate (or someone on their behalf) to give notice of appointment of an election agent 
• forms for the election agent to give notice of appointment of a sub-agent 
• forms for the candidate or election agent to give notice of appointment of polling agents, postal voting agents and counting agents
• details of how the deposit should be paid, including information on acceptable methods of payment
• written guidance for candidates and agents covering key aspects of the electoral process, including the qualifications and disqualifications for election, the nominations process, campaigning dos and don’ts, accessing electoral proceedings and what happens after the declaration of the result
• details of any local arrangements for each constituency in the region, such as the arrangements for the opening of postal votes, the poll and the count
• a copy of the Code of conduct which sets out what is, and is not, considered acceptable behaviour at polling stations and in the community
• details of how to obtain a copy of the electoral register and the absent voters lists for each constituency in the region, and forms to make such requests with information on where to send these request forms to. You should highlight that the information contained in the electoral register and absent voting list may only be used in accordance with the relevant regulations and data protection legislation 
• information on the spending limit for candidates at the election and guidance for candidates and agents on spending and donations
• a form for a candidate to withdraw from the contest if they decide to do so after they have been validly nominated
• any other relevant information

For more information see our guidance for candidates and agents at a Scottish Parliament election.
  
We have produced a set of nomination papers for registered political parties submitting a list of candidates and also for individuals standing as an individual regional candidate that contain all the forms needed for nomination.

You can find the individual and party regional nominations papers in the planning section of our resources page.