Elections

Registered voters in North Ayrshire may vote in a variety of elections and referenda. Find out how you can register to vote.

Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected using the First Past the Post system. In North Ayrshire, qualified and registered electors vote in either the North Ayrshire and Arran or the Central Ayrshire constituencies. Those elected sit in the Westminster Parliament.

North Ayrshire falls under two constituencies, North Ayrshire and Arran and Central Ayrshire.

Each UK Parliamentary constituency returns one Member of Parliament (MP). You can find details of the current MPs for each constituency.

There are currently 129 elected members in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, of which 73 are constituency members and 56 are list members.

Scottish Parliamentary Elections use the Additional Member System (AMS) where each voter has two votes. One of these votes is cast for a constituency MSP using the First Past the Post system, and the other is cast for a regional representative.

Scottish Parliamentary elections take place every four years and, depending where you live in North Ayrshire, qualified and registered voters will vote to return a constituency MSP for either the Cunninghame North or Cunninghame South constituency, as well as a West Scotland regional representative.

Each Scottish Parliamentary constituency returns one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). You can find details of the current MSPs for each constituency.

Local Government elections are held at regular intervals as prescribed by the Scottish Parliament. These local elections use the Single Transferable Vote system of voting.

Each Local Government area in Scotland is divided into electoral wards and there is a separate election for each ward.

North Ayrshire Council has nine wards with 33 serving elected members. You can find details of the local councillors for your ward using YourLocation.

• Scottish Parliamentary Election – Thursday 7 May 2026
• Local Government Election – Thursday 6 May 2027

By-elections can happen at any time and occur when a vacancy arises. For example, due to the death or resignation of an elected member.