Scotland: Parliament, 5 May 2016

At stake in this election:

• 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament

Note on the results: The seat counts above reflect the total seats won. The vote counts and percentages are for constituency votes. 

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
• Head of Government: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (since 20 November 2014)[1]
• Assembly: Scotland has a unicameral Scottish Parliament composed of 129 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• In the Scottish Parliament, 73 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies and 56 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system. All members serve 4-year terms.

Last Election:

• Elections for the Scottish Parliament were last held on 5 May 2011. The Scottish National Party won 69 seats, becoming the first party to secure a Parliamentary majority. Otherwise, the Labour Party took 37 seats, the Conservative Party took 15, the Liberal Democratic Party took 5, and the Green Party took 2. Additionally, 1 Independent candidate was elected.

Main parties in the election:

• Scottish National Party (SNP)
  • Leader: Nicola STURGEON
  • Seats won in last election: 69
• Scottish Labour Party
  • Leader: Kezia DUGDALE
  • Seats won in last election: 37
• Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Leader: Ruth DAVIDSON
  • Seats won in last election: 15
• Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Leader: Willie RENNIE
  • Seats won in last election: 5
• Scottish Green Party
  • Leader: Patrick HARVIE and Maggie CHAPMAN
  • Seats won in last election: 2

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 5,347,600 (June 2014 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 4,138,345 (2015)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,751,200 (June 2014 est.)

·         Is Scotland a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (22 July 1981)

·         Has Scotland ratified CEDAW: Yes (7 April 1986)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 46 (35.66%)

·         Human Development Index Position: 14

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Scotland a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Scotland ratified CRPD: Yes (8 June 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 802,140