People in Stirling head to the polls tomorrow (Thursday) in the midst of an election like no other.
Polling stations and count arrangements have been tailored with coronavirus restrictions in mind.
Stirling Council say the ongoing pandemic has created “a unique set of circumstances” requiring significant operational changes to ensure safety and also efficient delivery of the count.
In Stirling, the count for the Scottish Parliamentary Elections will take place at The PEAK at Stirling Sports Village rather than its traditional venue of the Albert Halls, with overall capacity restricted and limited mainly to statutory attendees.
The Stirling constituency result is expected to be declared on Friday afternoon, while the regional list results for Mid Scotland and Fife, as well as the Stirling Council Ward 2 (Forth and Endrick) by-election, are anticipated to be declared on Saturday.
Four candidates are vying to replace MSP for the Stirling constituency Bruce Crawford, who has retired after 18 years at Holyrood.
They are: Chris Kane (Scottish Labour Party); Dean Lockhart (Conservative and Unionist); Fayzan Rehman (Scottish Liberal Democrats); and Evelyn Tweed (SNP).
The Forth and Endrick byelection was triggered following the death of Councillor Graham Lambie. The candidates include Jane Hutchison (Conservative), Colin O’Brien (Labour), Paul Goodwin (SNP), James McLaren (Lib-Dem) and Wendy Faulkner (Greens).
In the Clackmannanshire and Dunblane constituency, the candidates are Keith Brown (SNP); Craig Miller (Labour); Iliyan Stefanov (Scottish Liberal Democrats); and Alexander Stewart (Conservative).
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A number of parties and independents are hoping to be elected via the Mid Scotland and Fife Regional list. They are:
Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party (Save £100,000,000 Yearly): Ian Haxton Mann; John Balfour Duff.
Alba Party: Eva Comrie; Neale Hanvey; James Eadie; and Stephanie Reilly.
All for Unity - No to Separatism: Linda Holt; Imam Manzoor Khan; Brian Henderson; Ian Stewart; James Glen; Graham Dawson; and Michael Saint.
Freedom Alliance - Scotland’s Opposition to Lockdown: Lisa Brackenridge; Eren Iona Sinclair; Stuart Alan Cairns; and Kathleen Ann Elliott.
Independence for Scotland Party: Andrew Ewan Bentley-Steed; Roy William Mackie.
Reform UK - Changing Politics for Good: Kenneth Morton; Victoria McCann; George Grant Gordon Otto Inglis; Alexander William Black; Guy Francis Addison; Karen Marie Morton.
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party: Murdo Fraser; Liz Smith; Dean Lockhart; Alexander Stewart; Roz McCall; Angus Forbes; Rhona Metcalfe; Darren Watt; Moira Benny; Kathleen Leslie; David MacPhee.
Scottish Family Party - Promoting Traditional Values: Donald James Marshall; Stephen Saunders; Davina Graham Saunders; Anil Alexander; George Thomas Carratt; Linda Susan Mair; Paul Lynch.
Scottish Green Party: Mark Ruskell; Mags Hall; Marion Robertson; Fiona Margaret McOwan; Scott John Colin Rutherford; Jeroen Van Leeuwen; Elspeth Christine MacLachlan; Paul Vallot; Amy Smith; Craig McCutcheon.
Scottish Labour Party: Claire Baker; Alex Rowley; Julie MacDougall; Craig Miller; Chris Kane; Ryan Smart; Ewan Dillon.
Scottish Liberal Democrats - Put Recovery First: Willie Rennie; Peter Barrett; Aude Boubaker-Calder; Julia Brown; Jane Ann Liston; Fayzan Rehman; Aisha Mir.
Scottish Libertarian Party: Calum Paul; George Charles Morton.
Scottish National Party (SNP) Nicola Sturgeon for SNP First Minister: Stefan Hoggan-Radu; John Swinney; Keith Brown; Annabelle Ewing; Jim Fairlie; David Torrance; Ross Cunningham; Fiona Sarwar; Moraig Henderson; Lee Robb; Rosemary Hunter.
Scottish Renew: Bruce Henderson; Stefan Diesing.
UK Indpendence Party (UKIP) - Get Rid of Holyrood: Lynda Davis; Douglas Watters; George Cormack; Edward McNally.
Individual regional candidates: Mercy Mugure Kamanja; Martin James Keatings (independent).
