At stake
in this election:
- Seats in the Scottish Parliament: 129
- Seats in the Welsh Assembly: 60
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Description
of government structure:
- British Parliament: The United
Kingdom's bicameral parliament is composed of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
- Scottish Parliament and Welsh
Assembly: The May 6, 1999, polls elected members to the newly-formed and separate Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.
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Description
of electoral systems:
- Scotland: Members of the Scottish
Parliament will be directly elected by a mixed electoral system; 73 members will represent single member constituencies and be elected by simple majority vote, or "First Past The Post" (FPTP), and 56 members will represent Scotland's eight electoral regions and be directly elected according to a party list proportional representation system, or "Additional Member System" (AMS). All 129 members of the Scottish Parliament will be elected for four-year terms.
- Wales: Members of the Welsh Assembly
will be directly elected by a mixed electoral system; 40 members will represent single
member constituencies and be elected by simple majority vote, or "First Past The
Post" (FPTP), and 20 members will represent Wales's five electoral regions and be
directly elected according to a party list proportional representation system, or
"Additional Member System" (AMS). All 60 members of the Welsh Assembly will be elected for four-year terms.
- Voters for both parliaments will cast
two votes - one for the constituency and one for the regional level.
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Results of
the electoral race for the Scottish Parliament:
- Party: Labour
Party
Leader: Donald DEWAR
Seats won in this election: 56
- Party:
Scottish National Party (SNP)
Leader: Alexander SALMOND
Seats won in this election: 35
- Party:
Conservative Party
Leader: David McLETCHIE
Seats won in this
election: 18
- Party:
Liberal Democratic Party
Leader: James WALLACE
Seats won in this election: 17
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Results of
the electoral race for the Welsh Assembly:
- Party: Labour
Party
Leader: Alun MICHAEL
Seats won in this election: 28
- Party: Plaid
Cymru
Leader: Dafydd WIGLEY
Seats won in this election: 17
- Party:
Conservative Party
Leader: Rod RICHARDS
Seats won in this election: 9
- Party:
Liberal Democratic Party
Leader: Michael GERMAN
Seats won in this election: 6
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Population
and number of registered voters:
- Population of the United Kingdom:
58,970,119 (July 1998 estimate)
- Population of Scotland: 5,100,000
(approx.)
- Population of Wales: 2,900,000
(approx.)
- Number of registered voters in
Scotland: 4,000,000 (approx.)
- Number of registered voters in Wales:
2,230,000 (approx.)
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Of Interest:
- The vote in Scotland will establish the
first Scottish Parliament since 1707.
- The vote in Wales will establish the
first-ever Welsh Assembly.
- The May 1999 elections were the
result of referendums held in Scotland and Wales in September 1997; 74.3% of Scottish
electors and 50.3% of Welsh electors voted in favor of the establishment of their
respective parliaments.
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| SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTION SYSTEMS (IFES) |
| For additional information:
IFES ElectionGuide Online |
