Scottish Parliament Election
An election will be held on 7 May 2026 to elect Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to the Scottish Parliament.
Notice of Election was published on Monday 16 March. Nominations open on Tuesday 17 March and close on Wednesday 1 April at 4pm.
You can find out further details by emailing elections@edinburgh.gov.uk.
The Scottish Parliament and Edinburgh Constituencies
There are currently 129 elected members in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, of which 73 are constituency members and 56 are Regional members.
Scottish Parliamentary Elections use the Additional Member System where each voter has two votes. One of these elects a constituency MSP using the first past the post system, and the other elects regional representatives from a list of political parties and individual candidates.
Everyone in Scotland is represented by 8 MSPs
- 1 for their constituency (for example, Edinburgh Southern, Midlothian North and East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs)
- 7 for the larger region in which they live (for example, Edinburgh and Lothians East)
There are currently 6 Parliamentary Constituencies in the City of Edinburgh Council area.
You can currently vote to return a constituency MSP for
- Edinburgh Central
- Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith
- Edinburgh North Western
- Edinburgh Northern
- Edinburgh South Western
- Edinburgh Southern
and Regional MSPs for the Edinburgh and Lothians EastRegion.
The Edinburgh and Lothians East Region includes
- East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs
- Edinburgh Central
- Edinburgh Eastern, Musselburgh and Tranent
- Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith
- Edinburgh North Western
- Edinburgh Northern
- Edinburgh South Western
- Edinburgh Southern
- Midlothian North
Paul Lawrence is the Returning Officer for the 6 Edinburgh constituencies and is the Regional Returning Officer for the Edinburgh and Lothians East Region.
The next election will be held on Thursday 7 May 2026.
View previous election results
Email elections@edinburgh.gov.uk.