Scottish Parliament elections
- Last updated
- 7 Jul 2025
You must be registered to vote in Scottish Parliament elections.
When you vote in a Scottish Parliament election, you’re voting for Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).
There are 129 MSPs in total.
What MSPs do
MSPs consider and propose new laws on issues that the Scottish Parliament controls. These are called ‘devolved matters’.
Devolution
Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. Devolution means the Scottish Parliament can make decisions on certain issues without needing approval from the UK Parliament.
Find out more about Scotland's powers on the Scottish Parliament website.
Who represents you
Each person in Scotland is represented by 8 MSPs:
• 1 constituency MSP
• 7 regional MSPs
Your MSP will represent your constituency or region in Scottish Parliament for up to 5 years.
Constituency MSPs
You can vote for an MSP to represent your local area – called a constituency. There are 73 constituencies in Scotland.
Regional MSPs
You can vote for a Scottish party or independent candidate to represent your region.
A region is a larger area which covers several constituencies. Scotland is divided into 8 regions. Each region has 7 MSPs.