Scotland Act 1998

2 Ordinary general elections. U.K.

(1) The day on which the poll at the first ordinary general election for membership of the Parliament shall be held, and the day, time and place for the meeting of the Parliament following that poll, shall be appointed by order made by the Secretary of State.

(2) The poll at subsequent ordinary general elections shall be held on the first Thursday in May in the fourth calendar year following that in which the previous ordinary general election was held, unless the day of the poll is determined by a proclamation under subsection (5).

(3) If the poll is to be held on the first Thursday in May, the Parliament—

(a) is dissolved by virtue of this section at the beginning of the minimum period which ends with that day, and

(b) shall meet within the period of seven days beginning immediately after the day of the poll.

(4) In subsection (3), “the minimum period” means the period determined in accordance with an order under section 12(1).

(5) If the Presiding Officer proposes a day for the holding of the poll which is not more than one month earlier, nor more than one month later, than the first Thursday in May, Her Majesty may by proclamation under the Scottish Seal—

(a) dissolve the Parliament,

(b) require the poll at the election to be held on the day proposed, and

(c) require the Parliament to meet within the period of seven days beginning immediately after the day of the poll.

[F1 (5A) If, under this section as modified by virtue of an Act of the Scottish Parliament, the poll at an ordinary general election would, apart from subsection (5), be held on a day other than that provided by subsection (2) as originally enacted—

(a) references in subsections (3) and (5) to the first Thursday in May are to be read as references to that other day (if it is not the first Thursday in May), and

(b) subsection (5B) applies to any day proposed under subsection (5).

(5B) The day proposed must not be the same as the day of the poll at—

(a) a parliamentary general election, other than an early parliamentary general election,

(b) a European parliamentary general election, or

(c) an ordinary local election.

(5C) In subsection (5B) “ordinary local election” has the meaning given by section 43(1C) of the Representation of the People Act 1983.]

(6) In this Act “the Scottish Seal” means Her Majesty’s Seal appointed by the Treaty of Union to be kept and used in Scotland in place of the Great Seal of Scotland.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 2(5A)-(5C) inserted (9.10.2015) by The Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedules 4 and 5) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1764), arts. 1(2), 4

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 2(2) modified (15.9.2011) by Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14), ss. 4(2), 7(2) (with s. 6)

C2 S. 2(2) modified (31.3.2016) by Scottish Elections (Dates) Act 2016 (asp 13), ss. 1(2), 3 (with s. 1(1))

C3 S. 2(5) excluded (11.3.1999) by S.I. 1999/787, arts. 1, 96