The Scottish Parliament was established in 1999 to debate issues and make laws for Scotland. The Scottish Parliament is situated in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh. The Parliament is frequently referred to as Holyrood.
The Scottish Parliament is made up of 129 elected representatives (known as Members of the Scottish Parliament or MSPs.) 73 are Constituency members and 56 are Regional members. Further information on how the Scottish Parliament works can be found here.
Scottish Parliament Elections use the Additional Member System where each voter has two votes. One of these (lilac ballot paper) elects a Constituency MSP using the first past the post system, and the other (peach ballot paper) elects Regional representatives from a list of political parties and individual candidates. The Additional Member System is a form of proportional representation designed to ensure that the total number of MSPs elected for each Party is similar to their share of the vote.
Everyone in Scotland is represented by eight MSPs. One for their Constituency (for example, Cunninghame North Constituency or Cunninghame South Constituency). Seven for the larger Region in which they live (for example, West Scotland Region)
There are currently two Scottish Parliamentary Constituencies in the North Ayrshire Council area. You can currently vote to return a Constituency MSP for:
Cunninghame North
Cunninghame South
The West Scotland Region consists of the Constituencies of Clydebank and Milngavie; Cunninghame North; Cunninghame South; Dumbarton; Eastwood; Greenock and Inverclyde; Paisley; Renfrewshire North and West; Renfrewshire South; and Strathkelvin and Bearsden.
Craig Hatton (Chief Executive of North Ayrshire Council) is the Constituency Returning Officer for both the Cunninghame North and Cunninghame South Constituencies.
Sandra Black (Chief Executive of Renfrewshire Council) is the Regional Returning Officer for the West Scotland Region.
The next Scottish Parliament Election will be held on Thursday 6 May 2021.