The Scottish Parliament Elections (Regional Returning Officers and Constituency Returning Officers) Order 2025

Made: 21st October 2025

Laid before the Scottish Parliament: 23rd October 2025

Coming into force: 7th November 2025

The Scottish Ministers make the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 12(6) and 113(4) of the Scotland Act 1998[^f00001], article 14(b) of the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2015[^f00002], and all other powers enabling them to do so.

In accordance with section 7(1) and (2)(g) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000[^f00003], the Scottish Ministers have consulted the Electoral Commission.

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Scottish Parliament Elections (Regional Returning Officers and Constituency Returning Officers) Order 2025 and, subject to paragraph (2), comes into force on 7 November 2025.

• (2) This Order has no effect for the purposes of any election for which the date of poll is on or before 6 May 2026.

• (3) In this Order “local authority” means a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994[^f00004].

Regional returning officers

2

For the purposes of the Scotland Act 1998, the person designated as the regional returning officer for a region specified in column 1 of schedule 1(regional returning officers for the Scottish Parliament regions) of this Order is the person who, under section 41(1) (returning officers: local elections in Scotland) of the Representation of the People Act 1983[^f00005], is the returning officer for elections of councillors for the local authority specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that schedule.

Constituency returning officers

3

The person directed to be the constituency returning officer for a constituency specified in the column 1 of schedule 2 (constituency returning officers for Scottish Parliament constituencies situated in more than one local government area) of this Order is the person who, under section 41(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, is the returning officer for elections of councillors for the local authority specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that schedule.

Revocation

4

The Scottish Parliament Elections (Regional Returning Officers and Constituency Returning Officers) Order 2016[^f00006] is revoked.

Schedule 1 — REGIONAL RETURNING OFFICERS FOR THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT REGIONS

Schedule 2 — CONSTITUENCY RETURNING OFFICERS FOR SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT CONSTITUENCIES SITUATED IN MORE THAN ONE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

Signed

SIOBHIAN BROWN — Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers — 21st October 2025

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Explanatory Note

This Order designates regional returning officers for the purposes of elections to the Scottish Parliament. It also directs the constituency returning officers for those purposes for constituencies situated in more than one local authority area. For constituencies wholly situated in one local authority area, the constituency returning officer is the person who is the returning officer for elections of councillors for that local authority.

Paragraph 2 of schedule 1 of the Scotland Act 1998 (“1998 Act”) provides for there to be 8 regions for the purposes of the Act and for 7 regional members of the Scottish Parliament to be returned for each region. The regions are those specified in the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies and Regions) Order 2025 (“the boundaries Order”). Under the 1998 Act there are 73 Scottish Parliament constituencies in total. They are the 70 constituencies which are specified in the boundaries Order and the constituencies of Na h-Eileanan an Iar, the Orkney Islands, and the Shetland Islands which are provided for by paragraph 1(2) of schedule 1 of the Scotland Act 1998.

Article 2 designates the person who is the returning officer for elections of councillors for the local authority named in column 2 of the table in schedule 1 as the regional returning officer for the region named in the corresponding entry in column 1 of that table.

Article 3 directs the person who is the returning officer for elections of councillors for the local authority named in column 2 of the table in schedule 2 to be the constituency returning officer for the constituency named in the corresponding entry in column 1 of that table.

Article 4 revokes the Scottish Parliament Elections (Regional Returning Officers and Constituency Returning Officers) Order 2016 (“*the 2016 Order*”) which previously designated the regional returning officers for the 8 regions, and the constituency returning officers for constituencies situated in more than one local authority area.

This Order comes into force on 7 November 2025, however it has no effect in relation to any election for which the day of the poll is on or before 6 May 2026. Where a Scottish Parliament election occurs on or before 6 May 2026, the returning officers designated by the 2016 Order will continue to act.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1998 c. 46. Section 12 was substituted by section 4(1) of the Scotland Act 2016 (c. 11) and amended by paragraph 8 of schedule 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (c. 16).

[^f00002]: S.S.I. 2015/425.

[^f00003]: 2000 c. 41. Section 7(2)(g) was amended by section 3(5) of the Scotland Act 2012 (c. 11), that amendment is not relevant to this instrument.

[^f00004]: 1994 c. 39. Section 2 was amended by section 120 and paragraph 232(1) of schedule 22 of the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25).

[^f00005]: 1983 c. 2.

[^f00006]: S.S.I. 2016/9.