EU election: How the count works

The ballot boxes have been being emptied and the process is underway, as Fifers help choose Scotland’s MEPs.

The count began at 6pm, but we won’t know how Fifers voted in the election until 10pm at the earliest.

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But how does the count work?

The UK is split into 12 electoral regions, with 73 MEPs – six from Scotland.

All six seats in Scotland are being contested by Change UK, the Conservatives, the Greens, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, the Brexit Party, and UKIP.

The numbers from Fife will be sent to the Regional Returning Officer, along with all the other count results in Scotland.

The winners will be decided using a form of proportional representation, with the first seat allocated to the party with the most votes.

Seats will be filled by candidates according to their party list.

Each subsequent seat is allocated to the party with the most votes, using the following calculation – total number of votes received, divided by the number of seats they’ve already been allocated, plus one.