Orkney is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament which was created in 1999, at the same time as the parliament. From 1999 until 2005 it was one of just two Scottish Parliament constituencies which did not have an exactly corresponding constituency of the United Kingdom Parliament. The other unusual Scottish Parliament constituency was Shetland. Most of the United Kingdom Parliament constituencies in Scotland were reformed, however, for the United Kingdom general election of 2005, without change to Scottish Parliament constituencies. The Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) has 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system of election, and eight additional member regions, each electing seven additional member MSPs. ... The Scottish Parliament (Pàrlamaid na h-Alba in Gaelic, Scots Pairlament in Scots) is the national unicameral legislature of Scotland. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the United Kingdom each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly. ... Shetland is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament which was created in 1999, at the same time as the parliament. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Museums in Scotland Abbeys and priories in Scotland Gardens in Scotland... The governing Labour Party, led by Tony Blair, was looking to secure a third consecutive term in office and to retain a large majority. ...

The constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation. Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. ... The first-past-the-post electoral system is a voting system for single-member districts, variously called first-past-the-post (FPTP or FPP), winner-take-all, plurality voting, or relative majority. ... The Highlands and Islands is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. ... The Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) has 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system of election, and eight additional member regions, each electing seven additional member MSPs. ... The Additional Member System (AMS) is a voting system where some representatives are elected from geographic constituencies and others are elected under proportional representation from party lists. ... Proportional representation (PR) is any election system which ensures a proportionally representative result of a democratic election, x% of votes should be represented by x% in the democratic institutions, parliament or congress. ...

The constituency area is also that of the Orkney Isles local government (unitary authority) council. The Orkney Islands form one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, and are a Lieutenancy Area. ... A unitary authority is a type of local authority, which has a single-tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area. ...