Osama Saeed, former SNP candidate:"Parliament has to be reflective of society, and by having people from different backgrounds you get enriched debate.

Muslims are not being represented. The parties themselves have to do more. We will have had three elections, three bites of the cherry, and yet we'll probably have only one non-white MSP. You can only conclude that the parties have just been paying lip service to the issue. It's been an absolute disgrace."

Bashir Maan, former councillor and Labour candidate:"I have believed that the Scottish parliament has been ethnically cleansed.

There is a need for all parties to take a stand on this issue, but so far there has been little or no action. The structures are not there and I believe there is institutional racism at play. For too long it has come down to not what you know, but who you know. People think they know what their constituents are thinking, but they don't. There are communities out there with no one to address their needs, problems, fears or aspirations."

Hanzala Malik, Glasgow Labour councillor:"The parties themselves use terms like 'disgrace' to describe their feeling about the lack of ethnic minority representation, but the fact that since 1999 not one has been elected shows that they are being disingenuous about these claims. The situation is quite shameful and their attempts to introduce ethnic minority voices into the parliament has clearly been tokenism."

Anas Sarwar, Labour candidate:"For me, quotas send out negative rather than positive messages. I think there is a talent among many people from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds and parties genuinely want to bring that talent through. If even one BME candidate is elected then that is a good start - you'd rather have one than none. It's a step in the right direction, but we need to take more steps."

Abdul Dean, prospective candidate for the Christian People's Alliance:"In a perfect world it would be nice to have everyone represented in the parliament, but that is not the reality. Perhaps we should consider affirmative action in the short term, as a starting process, but I would be concerned if that was in place longer-term because it could cause resentment. In the end, it should come down to an individual's own qualities."

Bashir Ahmad, SNP candidate:"We must have a Scottish parliament that reflects the whole country, and so I'm proud to be an SNP candidate in the elections next year, and honoured that I've been chosen by so many party members from all across Glasgow. There is much to be done, but I'm happy that the SNP are leading the way for the rest of Scotland."