Scottish Election 2026: Selecting the presiding officer

How does the new parliament elect a presiding officer?

After MSPs have been sworn in, the first task of a new parliament is selecting a presiding officer. It is expected this will happen on Thursday, 14 May, although it has not been confirmed.

The presiding officer from the previous session, Alison Johnstone, in her last act in the role, will preside over the nominations and voting. First, MSPs will submit nominations, which must be seconded by another member. The outgoing presiding officer will announce the nominations, and MSPs will cast their votes.

If there is only one candidate, a simple majority is required. If there are two or more candidates, a simple majority, or the votes cast for one candidate exceeding the total number of votes cast for all the other candidates, is required. If these conditions are not met, there will be another round of voting.

More than a quarter of MSPs must take part in the vote for the result to be valid.

Once a candidate is chosen, they must renounce their affiliation with their political party for the duration of the term to ensure that they are non-partisan in the role. They also relinquish their vote in the chamber in normal circumstances.  

What happens once the officer is chosen?

After that decision is made, they will preside over the election of the deputy presiding officers.

Once the first deputy presiding officer is elected, the remaining candidates are considered in the election for the second role. The only exception to this is if the presiding officer and first deputy presiding officer represent the same political party or are of the same gender. If either of these situations applies, unsuccessful candidates from that party or those of the same gender as the PO or DPO are no longer eligible.

What else happens?

The presiding officer also chairs the Parliamentary Bureau, which consists of the PO and a representative of each group with five or more MSPs. The presiding officer is expected to write to group leaders as soon as possible to invite nominations. When all nominations have been received, an early bureau meeting will be called to discuss procedural and timetabling matters.

From the point of electing the presiding officer, the parliament will have 28 days to agree on a first minister. In the unlikely event that it cannot agree, the presiding officer will have to speak to the King about holding another election.  

Can the presiding officer run in future elections?

Although it seems at times the role of presiding officer is taken by someone in their last parliamentary term, this is not the case. They can return as an MSP in the following session, although it has only happened once in the case of the late Alex Fergusson.

Criticism of the process

Last month, there was cross-party criticism of the way the election of the presiding officer works, in the form of a joint-authored piece in The Scotsman by the Conservatives’ Stephen Kerr, Labour’s Paul Sweeney, and the SNP’s Kenneth Gibson.

“That moment will expose something that is rarely said out loud but widely understood inside Holyrood. The election of the presiding officer is not a genuine contest. It is, more often than not, settled in advance,” they wrote.  

“Everyone inside the building knows it. We just don’t say it. Party managers talk. Deals are done. Names are tested. A candidate emerges who is acceptable across the parties. By the time MSPs are asked to vote, the outcome has effectively been stitched up.

“It is presented as a choice. It is nothing of the kind. And this time, the flaw will be even more obvious.”

They called for a proper campaigning period for the role, arguing that it was “not credible”, particularly for new MSPs to “responsibly elect one of the most important constitutional officeholders in Scotland”.  

Who could be in the frame?

Liam McArthur

A Lib Dem MSP since 2007, having served as one of the deputy presiding officers in session six, as well as having been seen to have handled his proposed assisted dying bill with dignity and respect in the last session, he would be a strong pick for a parliament that is guaranteed to be inexperienced compared to previous ones.  

Claire Baker

Another member of the 2007 intake, Baker is a well-respected member across the benches, and has held important parliamentary roles in the past, such as Economy and Fair Work Committee convener. In the last parliament, she was nominated for deputy presiding officer and was well backed but ultimately lost out to McArthur and Annabelle Ewing.

Kenneth Gibson

This is a real outsider bet for a few reasons. The first being his condemnation of the election process, the second being the SNP may simply need the numbers, and the third being the other parties may not back an SNP MSP getting the role.  

But Gibson has the pedigree to take on such a role; he was first elected in 1999, losing his seat between 2003 and 2007, but has been the MSP for Cunninghame North ever since. He has also held important roles such as convener of the Finance and Public Audit Committee and has demonstrated on that committee and in the chamber that, on certain issues, he’s not scared to challenge his party.  

Willie Rennie

The former Lib Dem leader has been an MSP for 15 years and has been a member of the Parliamentary Bureau over the last two parliaments, as well as being a well-respected voice in the parliament on issues like education.