Scotland council elections 2022: A really simple guide

Elections for all 32 Scottish councils will be held on 5 May, with a total of 1,227 councillors to be elected across the country. Polling places will be open between 07:00 and 22:00.

What do councils do?

Councillors represent you on your council, which is responsible for providing local public services such as:

• education

• social care

• housing

• waste management

• local roads and public transport

• leisure and cultural services and libraries

Councils raise money through the council tax, which they are able to set themselves - although the bulk of their finance comes from the Scottish government.

Who can vote in the election?

Anyone who lives in Scotland and is registered to vote is eligible, so long as they are aged 16 or over on the day of the election and have not been legally excluded from voting (for example because they are serving a prison sentence of longer than 12 months).

They must also be a British or Irish citizen or a citizen of another country living in Scotland who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need permission. British citizens living overseas are not allowed to vote in Scottish council elections.

How does voting work?

Each council is divided into smaller areas called wards, with every ward electing between one and five councillors.

Unlike other elections in Scotland, people vote using numbers rather than by putting an X in the box next to their preferred candidate.

You will be given a ballot paper that lists all of the candidates that are standing to be councillors in your ward.

You will be then be asked to number the candidates in the order of your choice by putting 1, 2, 3 and so on in the box next to each one - although you don't need to rank every candidate.

This is known as the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, with councillors elected through a mathematical process based on how they are ranked by voters.

When will we know the results?

Counting across the country will begin between 08:00 and 09:30 on the morning after the vote - Friday 6 May - and the results should be known the same day.

An electronic counting system will be used, with dedicated count centres in each of the 32 council areas.

What happened last time?

The last council elections were held on 4 May 2017, with the SNP remaining as the largest party across the country after winning 32% of the first preference votes.

The SNP also replaced Labour as the largest party in both Glasgow and Edinburgh - the first time it had control of either of the country's two largest cities.

The Conservatives increased their vote and number of seats across much of the country, including in some areas where the party had previously not done well, with Labour finishing third.

The results meant that no single party had a majority of seats in any mainland council - so they would all either be run by a coalition or a minority administration.

How do I register to vote?

There are three ways to vote:

• in person at a polling station (often in places such as schools and community centres)

• by postal vote

• by nominating someone to vote for you (a proxy vote)

The deadline to register to vote was Monday 18 April.

The deadline to register for a postal vote was 19 April.

The deadline to register for a proxy vote was 26 April.