Orkney Islands is a county constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering the council area of Orkney. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Under the additional-member electoral system used for elections to the Scottish Parliament, it is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Orkney Islands has been held by the Liberal Democrats at all elections since the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, with the current MSP being Liam McArthur, who won the seat at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. The former Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace represented the constituency from 1999 to 2007.
Orkney Islands is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region; the other seven constituencies are: Argyll and Bute, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Inverness and Nairn, Moray, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Shetland Islands and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
The region covers most of Argyll and Bute council area, all of the Highland council area, most of the Moray council area, all of the Orkney Islands council area, all of the Shetland Islands council area and all of Na h-Eileanan Siar.
The Orkney Islands constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, to cover the Orkney Islands council area. The constituency is protected in law due to its geographical separation from other parts of Scotland, and therefore its boundaries are not subject to review.
For elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Orkney is covered by the Orkney and Shetland constituency, which also covers Shetland.
It contains all six of the Orkney Council wards: East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray; Kirkwall East; Kirkwall West and Orphir; North Isles; Stromness and South Isles; West Mainland.