The Scottish parliamentary elections will take place on Thursday the 7th of May 2026. They will be responsible for the election of 129 members to parliament. Scottish Elections work differently to those elsewhere and are split up by constituency and regional votes, this can cause confusion to many voters. In a time where many things are just too confusing, voting shouldn’t be.
With so many parties in the running it can be daunting trying to figure out who to vote for and what each candidate stands for.
So how does it work? And what do you need to know ahead of time?
In Scottish Parliament elections each voter has two votes, a vote for a constituency MSP (the area of the city or area that you live in, e.g. Edinburgh South) and a regional MSP (e.g. Midlothian). Out of the 129 elected MSPs there are 73 constituency MSPs and 56 additional regional MSPs (7 per region). These elections decide representatives in parliament, not the First Minister.
Your constituency MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament) is the person who will represent you at the Scottish Parliament, raising issues in your area, meeting with constituents etc. These MSPs are elected using first past the past system, in simple terms this means that the candidate with the most votes wins.
Regional votes go towards a party. By using the Additional-member System (AMS), the name given to a system that aims to provide proportional representation, the parties you see in parliament are allocated a number of MSPs depending on how many votes they receive once the number of constituencies won in that region is taken into account. After this is done, one is added (hence the additional member system) so even parties who do not win in any constituencies have a fairer representation.
For example, if a party receives 40% of the vote, ideally proportional representation would then allow for the party to have 40% of the seats, however, this isn’t always the case. The party with the highest result is then allocated the first of seven regional seats, the process then repeats itself each time adding in any additional seats won. This explains why election results can often take longer than you may expect.
For the 2026 Scottish parliamentary elections the deadline for registering to vote is the 20th of April 2026 at 5pm, so if you haven’t done so yet, there’s still time. If you’re unsure on how to register to vote in Scotland or if you’re a student who just found out you can vote here, it’s really simple.
How to guide:
You can register to vote online publicly or anonymously via the Scot Gov website
You can register to vote up to 2 years before you’re eligible (14 in Scotland, where you can vote in Scottish Parliament and Local Elections at 16. For UK General Elections you have to be 18 to vote)
You only need to register once (unless you change your name, address or nationality)
You will be asked for your National Insurance number or passport details, if you’re an overseas voter
Scottish Independence remains on the agenda in this year’s election, particularly in the eyes of the Scottish National Party (SNP). However, it’s more of an afterthought than at the forefront of the campaign, compared to previous years where independence dominated.
According to the Institute for Government, polls ahead of the May election show the SNP are set for a fifth consecutive term in power, with John Swinney remaining as First Minister. However, it looks as if this may be a minority government (meaning they’d require support from other parties in the Scottish Government in order to have a majority vote when passing budgets and legislation), alternatively they could return to past cooperative agreements with the Scottish Greens or form a coalition government.
In time for the 2026 election, the SNP have begun outlining new strategies they believe will give them a stronger case for independence, hoping to gain another indy’ referendum. The party has stated that winning a majority government in May is the only way the SNP can gain a mandate for a second referendum and “the only uncontested way to deliver a new vote on Scotland’s future”. However, several obstacles from Westminster still stand in the way.
Another key issue for many voters in Scotland, is the continued effort to combat the rise of the far right, with Reform recently winning its first seat in the Central Scotland region. Recent YouGov polls from the 8th-14th of January 2026, show Reform UK in second place behind SNP for Scotland’s voting intentions, with a 20% share in both constituency and regional votes.
In late January Nigel Farage announced ex-member of the Scottish Conservative Party, Lord Malcolm Offord as the party’s Scotland leader. Lord Offord claims that Reform UK already has around 12,000 members (at time of appointment). “A huge chunk of the Scottish electorate are looking for something different. And they’re tired of the decline this country has seen under the SNP government”, he told reporters during the Reform event in Fife.
Other issues that remain important to voters have been outlined by a number of charities, with tackling homelessness, Scotland’s drug crisis, injustice and the Scottish economy being top contenders for parties to shift their focus to in campaigns.
Alongside the big five parties SNP, Scottish Greens, Liberal Democrats, Scottish Labour and Conservatives, running parties also include the growing Reform, who aim to have a number of candidates elected. Nigel Farage claimed around 100 Scottish candidates had undergone vetting and training.
Similarly, following on from the recent launch of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party Scotland branch, it was announced at the ‘Your Party Scotland’ conference in Dundee in February, that the party would stand in the 2026 Holyrood elections.
With so many parties in the running it can be daunting trying to figure out who to vote for and what each candidate stands for. The changing political climate may also play a role in what matters to you and what you feel best represents your values. It is important to stay informed so that you make the best possible decision. Accessing party manifesto’s, doing your research on candidates’ policies and their views on key issues is the best way to back your decision and ease the pressure come election day.
If you plan to vote in person, this will take place at your local polling station on Thursday the 7th of May. All polling stations are open 7am – 10pm. For postal votes, you must have registered by 5pm on April 21st, the posting deadline can be found with instructions on your ballot paper.
