There should have been 12, if we were to go by representation of the Scottish population. So the question to dig deeper now is, why is there a lack of coloured faces within political systems in Scotland? I say this in comparison to the larger cities of England.

The fact that political parties haven’t normally fielded more diverse candidates because its always been about ‘who is most electable’ and ‘who will look good for the Party’s image’.

After only have 2 BAME candidates selected in the SNP’s constituency Holyrood seats, I am immensely proud to be a member of the SNP’s National Executive Committee who openly supported the Equalities mechanism (https://www.thenational.scot/news/19140759.candidates-bame-backgrounds-top-snp-lists/) that has benefited the Party in fielding talented and experienced candidates with a common goal:

To have a Scottish Parliament that reflects the population of Scotland.

I dedicate this piece to Kaukab Stewart, Michelle Campbell, Fatima Joji and Roza Salih – the four female BAME Holyrood candidates of the SNP, in addition to the hardworking, grassroots BAME male candidates, Danish Ashraf, Graham Campbell and Humza Yousaf.

In an ideal world, there should be no need to have special measures put in place to ‘allow’ people of colour be more visible in the political arena. Just like there shouldn’t have to be special “allowances” for women to be active in politics. So why do we have to do this?

Elected members are chosen by the population who have a right to vote. So does that mean that those people elected are a reflection of the inner-most wishes of the Scottish population? Or is it a reflection of the Scottish culture that is battling with progressive change of its demographics?

An increasing number of bilingual ethnic minorities who are engaged with politics shows that there is more accessibility into public service, because these people have their own experiences that they want to use to make Scotland into an equitable nation, to uphold the four words etched on to the Scottish Parliament mace: Wisdom, Justice, Compassion and Integrity.

Like it or not, we are here to stay, because Scotland is our home. Regardless if we are migrants or generations of migrants, we have a right to make our voices heard. Britain’s empire was build to exploit and rule of Eastern countries, creating this channel of migration and power politics which has manifested to the present day.

The Scottish Parliament was created to govern for the people of Scotland, by the people of Scotland. Everyone of every colour and every creed, who lives, breathes and drinks (especially Irn Bru) Scotland are the people that make Scotland what it is today.

We all have one goal to achieve now – to live in peace and harmony, and the best way to do that is to be able to fully govern our Scottish Government through as an independent and prosperous nation.