Member of the Scottish Parliament
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Template:PoliticsScotland Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.
MSPs are elected in one of two ways: (1) as first past the post constituency MSPs or; (2) as regional additional-member MSPs.
73 are elected as constituency MSPs and 56 are elected as additional members, seven from each of eight regional groups of constituencies. This additional member system produces a form of proportional representation for each region.
All MSP positions become simultaneously vacant for elections held on a four year cycle. If a vacancy arises at another time, due to death or resignation, then it may be filled in one of two ways, depending of whether the vacancy is for a first-past-the-post constituency MSP or for an additional-member MSP.
A constituency vacancy may be filled by a by-election. An additional-member vacancy may be filled by the next available candidate on the relevant party list.
The parliament was created in 1999.
See also
- Members of the Scottish Parliament, 1999-2003
- Members of the Scottish Parliament, 2003-2007
- Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
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