Notice of election published

The Notice of Election for the forthcoming UK General Election has now been published for the Orkney and Shetland Constituency.

Candidates now have until 4pm on Friday (7 June 2024) to return their nomination papers to the Returning Officer at the Council Offices in Kirkwall. 

Election Notices are available on the Orkney Islands Council website at General Election - 4 July 2024 (orkney.gov.uk) and on the Shetland Islands Council website at UK Parliamentary Election - 4 July 2024 – Shetland Islands Council 

For the purposes of UK Parliamentary Elections, Orkney and Shetland form one constituency returning 1 MP after the vote.

Polling stations will be open across both local authority areas from 7:00am to 10:00pm on July 4 – with the counting of those votes then taking place at Kirkwall Grammar School overnight, with a result expected on the morning of July 5.

Voters should ensure that they are on the electoral register by midnight on Tuesday 18 June.

Changes have been made to the voter eligibility criteria for overseas voters. British and eligible Irish citizens living overseas can now register to vote in UK Parliamentary general elections no matter how long ago they left or were last registered to vote in the UK.

In addition, to vote in person at a polling station, voters are now required to show valid photographic ID. The full list of acceptable voter ID is available on the Electoral Commission’s website, at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voterID and includes:

• passport
• driving licence
• Saltire card
• Young Scot card

If voters do not have any approved photographic ID, they can apply to their local Electoral Registration Office for a Voter Authority Certificate.

Key dates coming up are:

• The deadline for ensuring you are registered to vote is midnight on Tuesday 18 June .
• The deadline for new postal and postal proxy applications – or for making changes to existing postal and proxy applications - is 5.00pm on Wednesday 19 June.
• The deadline for receiving new applications to vote by proxy – where someone votes on your behalf – is 5:00pm on Wednesday 26 June.
• The deadline for applying for a Voter Authority Certificate is also 5:00pm on Wednesday 26 June.
• It is anticipated that polling letters - instead of a card - will be received by voters from 13 June onwards, with the first issue of postal voting packs expected to be delivered around Friday 21 June. 

To apply for a Voter Authority Certificate, go to www.voter-authority-certificate.service.gov.uk/ or contact your local Electoral Registration Office for a paper copy.

Registration queries, overseas voters queries, postal and proxy applications, and Voter ID applications should be directed to the Electoral Registration Office in Orkney at 8 Broad Street, Kirkwall. Tel: 01856 876222, email ero@orkney.gov.uk or to the Electoral Registration Office in Shetland at 20 Commercial Road, Lerwick, ZE1 0LX Tel: 01595 745700, email ero@shetland.gov.uk.