A simple guide to the Scottish Parliament election 2026
BBCAbout four million voters will head to the polls in May to elect the seventh Scottish Parliament.
The last election was in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic.
When is the Scottish election?
The Scottish Parliament election will take place on Thursday 7 May.
Polling stations will open at 07:00 and close at 22:00.
A total of 129 MSPs will be elected to the parliament, often referred to as Holyrood after the area of Edinburgh where the parliament building stands.
Who can vote in the Holyrood election?
Anyone who lives in Scotland and is registered to vote is eligible, as long as they are 16 or over on the day of the poll and have not been legally excluded from voting (for example, because they are serving a prison sentence of longer than 12 months).
They must also be a British or Irish citizen, or a citizen of another country living in Scotland who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need permission.
How do I register to vote?
There are three ways to vote:
- in person at a polling station (often in places such as schools and community centres)
- by postal vote
- by nominating someone to vote for you (a proxy vote)
You can register to vote online.
The deadline to register to vote is 20 April.
The deadline to register for a postal vote is 21 April and for a proxy vote is 28 April.
How does voting work?
Voters are given two ballot papers - one is to vote for a constituency MSP, who will represent their local area, and another is for the regional ballot.
Constituency MSPs are elected using a first-past-the-post system, where the winner in each seat is the candidate who receives the most votes.
In the regional ballot, votes are cast for parties rather than individual candidates.
These seats are allocated using a special formula which takes into consideration how many constituencies a party has won.
It also works out how many additional MSPs the party needs to ensure the make up of the parliament is reflective of how the country voted in the regional ballot.
When will we know the results?
Votes used to be counted as soon as the polls closed at 22:00 on Thursday, with the results being announced overnight and into Friday morning.
This time, the count will begin on Friday morning.
The first declarations are expected at lunchtime, with most results in by the evening.
What does the Scottish Parliament do?
The modern Scottish Parliament was established in 1999.
MSPs there debate and pass laws on areas where powers have been devolved from the UK Parliament - these include most aspects of day-to-day life in Scotland, such as education, health and transport.
Holyrood also has control over some taxes, including setting income tax bands and rates, and some areas of welfare.
The UK Parliament at Westminster can pass laws on reserved matters, which are generally those with a UK-wide or international impact - such as defence, foreign policy and immigration.
How many MSPs are there?
The Scottish Parliament is made up of 129 MSPs.
Of that total, 73 represent local areas known as constituencies.
The rest of the MSPs are drawn from eight regions which together cover the whole of Scotland. Each region elects seven MSPs.
The regions are:
- Central Scotland and Lothians West
- Edinburgh and Lothians East
- Glasgow
- Highlands and Islands
- Mid Scotland and Fife
- North East Scotland
- South Scotland
- West Scotland
This means that people in Scotland are each represented by eight MSPs - one representing their constituency, and another seven representing their region.
PA MediaThere have been changes to the boundaries for this election so some constituencies and regions have changed name and shape.
The Scottish government is usually formed from the party that holds the most seats in the parliament, or alternatively a coalition of more than one party.
The government is led by the first minister, who appoints a number of ministers to be in charge of departments such as education, health and finance.
What are the big issues for voters?
According to a poll carried out for BBC Scotland, three topics dominate voters' concerns: the economy, (including the cost of living), health and social care, and immigration.
What happened last time?
The 2021 election took place on Thursday 6 May, when Scotland was still dealing with Covid restrictions.
The SNP won 64 seats - one short of a majority but one more than it won in the previous election.
The Scottish Conservatives came second with 31.
Next was Scottish Labour, on 22.
The Scottish Greens had eight and the Scottish Liberal Democrats secured four seats.
