LOCAL elections will be held across Scotland this week with more than 1200 council seats up for grabs.
But the local elections are far from the simplest voting system to understand.
Before we get into any of the intricacies of how best to make your voice heard, it's good to start with the basics.
What is a council ward?
A council’s wards are the areas into which the local authority is subdivided.
Scotland’s 32 local authorities have a total of 354 wards. The largest, Glasgow City Council, has 23 different wards. The smallest, Clackmannanshire and East Renfrewshire, each have just five.
A ward’s size and population can vary hugely. While just 2600 people live in the North Isles ward of Shetland’s council, Edinburgh’s Almond ward has a population of around 36,000.
Some wards are massive, like the almost 5000-square-kilometre North, West and Central Sutherland on Highland council. Others are much smaller, like Aberdeen’s Hilton/Woodside/Stockethill which covers just 2.6 square kilometres.
What council ward am I in?
If you are unsure of what ward you are in, you can find it by entering your postcode into the boundaries.scot website here.
Each ward elects three, four or occasionally five councillors using the Single Transferable Vote system.
Once you know your ward, you will be able to find out the names of your councillors and which party, if any, they represent through your local authority’s website.
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