Deadline for Holyrood candidates

Nominations are set to close for candidates wishing to stand in the Scottish Parliament elections.

The deadline for anyone wanting to stand in the 5 May poll is 1600 BST.

Over the past few days, a number of potential candidates have dropped out of the regional lists but have quickly been replaced by the parties.

Each candidate for the 73 constituencies has to pay a £500 deposit and they have to get 5% of the vote for it to be returned.

The returning officers take cash and credit cards – but no cheques.

The 129 MSPs returned to Holyrood after the election will consist of the first-past-the-post constituency members plus 56 MSPs elected from the eight regional lists.

This “additional members” system seeks to make the overall results more proportional.

The boundaries for the 73 constituencies have been redrawn since the last election in May 2007.

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