Scottish Ministers have made the Scottish Parliament Elections (Regional Returning Officers and Constituency Returning Officers) Order 2025 (SSI 2025/287). The instrument designates the Regional Returning Officer (RRO) for each of the eight regions and directs the Constituency Returning Officer (CRO) where a constituency straddles more than one local authority. The Order is published on legislation.gov.uk.
According to the Order as published, it was made on 21 October 2025, laid before the Scottish Parliament on 23 October 2025, and comes into force on 7 November 2025. However, it has no effect for any election where the day of poll is on or before 6 May 2026, aligning with the Electoral Commission’s planning for the next scheduled polls in May 2026.
The Order’s structure mirrors established practice. RROs are the returning officers for the named local authorities set against each region in Schedule 1; they oversee regional nominations and seat allocation. CROs for constituencies spanning multiple local authorities are expressly directed in Schedule 2; for constituencies wholly within a single authority, the local government returning officer remains the CRO by default. This division of roles is consistent with the Commission’s guidance for Holyrood elections.
Article 4 revokes the 2016 designations instrument. That 2016 Order set out the previous mapping of RROs by region and identified CROs for cross‑boundary constituencies through schedules, a pattern now refreshed for the next Holyrood cycle. Administrators familiar with the 2016 schedules should treat the 2025 Order as the operative scheme once the commencement and savings provisions bite.
The designations sit alongside boundary changes progressing via the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies and Regions) Order 2025. That draft order defines 70 of the 73 constituencies and all eight regions, with the three island constituencies provided directly by the Scotland Act 1998. The overall composition of the Parliament remains 129 MSPs: 73 constituency and 56 regional members.
For election administrators, the immediate effect is procedural rather than operational. The 2025 designations take legal effect from 7 November 2025 but are subject to the saving for polls on or before 6 May 2026; where a Scottish Parliament election or by‑election occurs on or before that date, the 2016 designations continue to apply. The Electoral Commission has signalled updated guidance for the 2026 polls and separate support for any by‑elections before 7 May 2026.
The enabling framework remains the Scotland Act 1998 and the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2015. As with previous instruments, Ministers consulted the Electoral Commission under section 7 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 before making changes to electoral law. RROs and CROs should continue to apply the 2015 Rules on conduct, nomination, counting and post‑poll processes unless and until amended.
Practical next steps include confirming designation awareness within each local authority, checking nomination arrangements for regional lists, verifying regional–constituency data flows for results transmission, and aligning training and communications to the Commission’s updated materials ahead of the 2026 timetable. These steps help ensure a consistent application of the refreshed designations at the next scheduled election.