1. Some 21,769 people are entitled to vote in the Western Isles -
2. Nearly a fifth of voters -
3. The islands’ 47 polling stations opened at 7am. Voting ends at 10pm tonight
4. You don't need to take your polling card with you when you vote today -
5. Counting takes place overnight in the Stornoway sports centre
6. Ballot boxes from the polling station in the Comhairle’s Stornoway offices could be the first in Scotland to be counted
7. Western Isles result is delayed until after 2.30am due to a slower boat being used to transport Barra boxs
8. A plane will take off around 1am from Balivanich airport with Uist, Benbecula and Barra boxes. The £7000 charter cost is recoverable as an election expense from the Scottish Government.
9. In 2010, the Nationalists won the Western Isles’ General Election with an 1,885 majority
10. Other candidates are Mark Brown, Scottish Conservative; Ruaraidh Ferguson, LibDem and John Cormack, Scottish Christian Party.
11. Labour’s Alasdair Morrison is battling hard to try and seize the seat off the SNP’s Angus MacNeil
12. Polls suggest the islands will be a SNP hold. So does the Stornoway bookie
13. Labour are also looking to cut MacNeil’s majority
14. Postal voting packs can be handed at your local polling station up to 10pm or into the Election Office in the Council Offices, Stornoway
15. Local posties will work late to make a pre-
15 facts about the Western Isles election
7 May 2015