Youngsters urged to register for Holyrood elections

On Thursday May 5 voters in Scotland will go the polls to elect 129 MSPs to represent them.

The voting age for the Scottish Parliament election has been lowered to 16 for the first time and this means that anyone who will be 16 or over on 5 May 2016 will be eligible to vote -so long as they’re registered. But hurry the deadline for registering is April 18.

East Dunbartonshire Council Chief Executive Gerry Cornes is the Returning Officer for the Strathkelvin and Bearsden Constituency.

He said: “Just like anyone else wishing to have their say, 16 and 17-year-olds must be registered to vote. Being registered to vote doesn’t happen automatically – a lot of people think it does but it doesn’t.

“Take a few minutes to register online now at gov.uk/register-to-vote. Your vote matters; don’t lose it.”

To register you’ll need to provide your National Insurance number, date of birth and address. If you’re not yet 16 you won’t need your National Insurance number to register. To check call 0800 980 0471.