Scottish Government to Amend Electoral Law for Commonwealth Citizens in Local Elections

The Scottish Government plans to introduce fresh legislation that would allow Commonwealth citizens with limited leave to remain in the UK to stand in local council elections, after identifying a gap in electoral laws passed last year, Daily Mail reported. The bill is expected to be tabled after the Scottish Parliament returns from its summer recess, with the aim of having the changes in place before local authority elections scheduled for May 2027. Legislation that came into force in August 2025 was intended to allow foreign nationals with limited leave to remain to contest elections. However, it was later found that Commonwealth citizens with the same immigration status were not covered by the rules for local council elections. Parliament Business Minister Jamie Hepburn said the omission was unintended and did not reflect the purpose of the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act. "We have identified a gap in the provisions," Hepburn said, adding that the government wants Parliament to "resolve this anomaly" before next year's council elections. The proposed amendment applies only to local government elections. The government said the issue does not affect the eligibility of Commonwealth citizens with limited leave to remain to stand for the Scottish Parliament. The move comes after the election of Q Manivannan, an Indian-born Scottish Green MSP, who became the first person without permanent leave to remain in the UK to win a seat in the Scottish Parliament. The planned changes have drawn criticism from political opponents. A Holyrood source told the Daily Mail: "It’s bizarre that just weeks after the Q Manivannan saga, the SNP are trying to encourage even more foreign nationals who have a limited right to remain to stand for local council elections next year. We could end up in a situation where scores of newly-elected councillors are either unable to serve full terms, costing taxpayers millions in needless by-elections, or potentially serving out their terms halfway across the world. People will rightly find it outrageous that this is the top priority of the SNP." The Scottish Government said it has received no indication that any Commonwealth citizen with limited leave to remain has already been elected as a councillor under the existing rules.