Scottish Green leadership: Who is standing? When does voting close? Ross Greer, Lorna Slater, Gillian Mackay

Patrick Harvie is stepping down as co-leader of the party after 17 years at the helm and a stint as a government minister. In total, four party members have confirmed their intention to stand to be co-leaders of the party.

The Scotsman looks at what you need to know about the party election.

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Why is an election happening?

Technically, the election is not happening because Mr Harvie has said he is stepping down.

The party holds a co-leadership election every two years regardless of whether or not the current co-leaders intend to stay on.

Who is standing?

Lorna Slater has been co-leader of the party alongside Mr Harvie since 2019.

When first made co-leader, she was not an elected member - she only became an MSP for the Lothians in 2021.

Since then, Ms Slater has been a government minister under the Bute House Agreement and led the party’s debates and questioning in the Scottish Parliament.

She was the first to officially declare she was standing for re-election.

Gillian Mackay has been an MSP for Central Scotland since 2021. In that time, she has brought in legislation to create buffer zones around abortion clinics and has campaigned for free-to-air football on television.

As a party business manager, she managed the relationship between the SNP and the Greens during the Bute House Agreement.

Ms Mackay is due to give birth to her first child this month.

Ross Greer is an MSP for the West of Scotland. He became the youngest ever MSP in Holyrood when he was first elected in 2016 at the age of just 21.

Since then, he has been vocal on issues such as the proposed Flamingo Land resort on Loch Lomond and Donald Trump, and runs the party’s finance portfolio.

Dominic Ashmole says he wants the party to speak more about the challenges it faces and demand “emergency action” from the Scottish Government.

He is not an elected member, but believes having one MSP and one non-MSP as co-leaders would allow the party to be better connected to its elected members.

When does voting open?

Nominations to stand for co-leader opened on Friday, July 4, and closed on Friday, July 25. Official campaigning began the following Monday.

The official ballot will then open on Wednesday, August 13 and close on Friday, August 22. The results are expected by the end of August.

What are the rules for co-leaders?

If elected, they will serve a two-year term before another election is held. At that point, they would need to stand for re-election if they want to stay on.

At least one of the co-leaders must be a woman.