The Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Amendment Order 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2015 (“the 2015 Order”) and the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2010 (“the 2010 Order”) in consequence of the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Act 2020 (“the 2020 Act”).

Article 3 omits the definitions of “citizen of the Union” and “relevant citizen of the Union” contained in article 2 of the 2015 Order and inserts a definition of “qualifying foreign national”. This reflects the introduction of “qualifying foreign national” as an eligible category of local government elector in Scotland by section 1 of the 2020 Act. Section 1 of the 2020 Act removes EU Citizens as a particular category of local government electors in Scotland.

Article 21(2)(b)(iii) of the 2015 Order provides that a person entered in the list of proxies is not to be excluded from voting at a Scottish parliamentary election on the ground that they are not, or were not on the date of their appointment, an EU Citizen. Article 4 amends the reference to “a relevant citizen of the Union” in Article 21(2)(b)(iii) to refer to a “qualifying foreign national”.

Paragraph 3(f) of schedule 9 of the 2015 Order preserved article 21(2)-(4) of the 2010 Order (prohibition of exclusion from voting) so far as those paragraphs relate to a person registered as a local government elector. Therefore, article 21(3)(b)(iii) of the 2010 Order provides that a person registered as a local government elector is not to be excluded from voting at a Scottish parliamentary election on the ground that they are not, or were not (on the “relevant date” (article 21(4)), a relevant citizen of the Union. Article 6 inserts a definition of “qualifying foreign national” into article 2 of the 2010 Order and article 7 amends the reference to “a relevant citizen of the Union” in article 21(3)(b)(iii) of the 2010 Order to refer to a “qualifying foreign national”.