Polling stations open for the 2026 Holyrood election
Getty ImagesVoters are heading to the polls to elect a new Scottish Parliament.
For those who have not already submitted a postal ballot, polling stations opened at 07:00 and voting will take place until 22:00.
Some constituencies have changed since the last Holyrood election in 2021 - though the total number of seats remains 129.
With no overnight counting at this election, the first results are now not expected until Friday afternoon.
Traditionally, election counting started immediately after the polls closed. But this changed in 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Announcing that the count at this year's vote would not start until 09:00 on Friday, the Electoral Management Board for Scotland said the measure would reduce costs and increase public engagement.
About one in five members of the Scottish electorate are registered for a postal vote, meaning they had the chance to cast their ballot ahead of polling day.
Of the 129 MSPs, 73 will represent local areas known as constituencies. The rest will represent larger regions, which together cover the whole of Scotland.
How can I follow the Scottish election results?
You can follow the results on multiple BBC platforms.
The BBC Scotland news website will run a dedicated live page from 06:00 on Friday until at least 22:00, featuring the latest results and analysis.
A live results programme will be broadcast on BBC One Scotland and the BBC Scotland channel from 09:30 on Friday, followed by an hour-long Reporting Scotland Election Special from 18:30.
The results programme will be simulcast on BBC Radio Scotland from 10:00 to 13:00, and from 13:30 to 18:00.
When might your result be declared?
Getty ImagesThere are estimated declaration times for Holyrood's 73 constituency seats and the eight regions. These could be affected by issues like levels of turnout, recounts, or delays in verifying and counting ballots.
Listed alphabetically by area, these are the expected times on Friday:
CONSTITUENCIES
Aberdeen Central (15:30)
Aberdeen Donside (15:30)
Aberdeenshire East (15:30)
Aberdeenshire West (15:30)
Airdrie (12:00)
Almond Valley (14:00)
Angus North and Mearns (16:00)
Angus South (16:00)
Argyll and Bute (15:00)
Ayr (13:00)
Banffshire and Buchan Coast (15:30)
Bathgate (14:00)
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (16:00)
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (16:00)
Clackmannanshire and Dunblane (16:00)
Clydebank and Milngavie (17:00)
Clydesdale (16:00)
Coatbridge and Chryston (13:00)
Cowdenbeath (15:00)
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (14:00)
Cunninghame North (14:30)
Cunninghame South (14:30)
Dumbarton (17:00)
Dumfriesshire (15:30)
Dundee City East (16:00)
Dundee City West (16:00)
Dunfermline (16:00)
East Kilbride (16:00)
Eastwood (16:00)
Edinburgh Central (15:00)
Edinburgh Northern (15:00)
Edinburgh North Western (15:00)
Edinburgh Southern (15:00)
Edinburgh South Western (15:00)
Falkirk East and Linlithgow (16:30)
Falkirk West (16:00)
Fife North East (15:00)
Galloway and Dumfries West (15:30)
Glasgow Anniesland (14:15)
Glasgow Cathcart and Pollock (15:45)
Glasgow Central (15:00)
Glasgow Kelvin & Maryhill (15:30)
Glasgow Southside (15:15)
Inverclyde (16:30)
Inverness and Nairn (18:30)
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley (16:00)
Kirkcaldy (15:00)
Mid Fife and Glenrothes (15:00)
Midlothian North (16:00)
Moray (14:00)
Motherwell and Wishaw (15:00)
Na h-Eileanan an Iar (13:30)
Orkney Islands (14:30)
Paisley (15:00)
Perthshire North (14:00)
Renfrewshire North and Cardonald (15:00)
Rutherglen and Cambuslang (16:00)
Shetland Islands (14:30)
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch (18:30)
Stirling (16:00)
Strathkelvin and Bearsden (14:00)
Uddingston and Bellshill (16:00)
REGIONS
Edinburgh and Lothians East (18:00)
Glasgow (16:15)
Highlands and Islands (19:00)
Mid Scotland and Fife (17:30)
North East Scotland (15:30)
South Scotland (16:00)
West Scotland (16:00)
