Scottish Parliamentary Elections called in Highland
Issued on behalf of the Constituency and Regional Returning Officer
Nomination forms are now available for candidates seeking election to the Scottish Parliament.
The election will take place on Thursday 6 May 2021 with polling taking place in three Highland constituencies.
The local constituencies are:
- Caithness, Sutherland and Ross,
- Inverness and Nairn,
- Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
The local constituency MSPs are elected under the 'first past the post' voting system which means the candidate with the most votes is elected to serve as an MSP in your local constituency area.
Nomination forms are available now from the Highland Council’s website for candidates seeking election to the Scottish Parliament together with guidance notes. Prospective Constituency candidates have until 4pm on Wednesday 31 March 2021 to submit their nomination forms.
As well as returning a local constituency Member of the Scottish Parliament for the three Highland constituencies, electors will be asked to elect seven additional Members from the Highlands and Islands Regional List to the Scottish Parliament.
The Highland and Islands Regional constituencies are:
- Argyll and Bute
- Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
- Inverness and Nairn
- Moray
- Na h-Eileanan an lar
- Orkney
- Shetland
- Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
Regional MSPs are elected using the 'party list system' which means people vote for their preferred party or individual candidate.
Regional Nomination forms and guidance notes are available for individual candidates or party list candidates seeking election to the Scottish Parliament are available now from the Council’s website. The deadline for them to be submitted is also 4pm on Wednesday 31 March 2021.
The public are being reminded that to take part they will need to ensure that they are registered to vote by the deadline of Monday 19 April 2021. The quickest and easiest way to register is online or alternatively, please call the Electoral Registration Office on 0800 393 783 to request a paper form to be sent to you.
Voters will be able to opt to vote in person at a polling station, apply for a proxy vote so someone can vote on their behalf or take advantage of the convenience of voting by post. The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm, Tuesday 6 April 2021. Application forms can be downloaded from www.saa.gov.uk/h-wi-vjb. If you are unable to print the form, you can request application forms to be sent to you or your household. Further information on how to do this can be found at www.saa.gov.uk/h-wi-vjb. The Electoral Registration Office can arrange for application forms to be sent to you in the post.
For further information about the forthcoming Scottish Parliamentary election visit Highland Council’s website -