The parties want to arrest the decline in voter turnout

Amid concern about falling turnout, they have joined forces to call on people to have their say in Holyrood and local authority polls on 3 May.

The Electoral Commission has issued a call for action to curb any subsequent decline in voter participation.

This year sees the introduction of a new system of voting for the local government elections.

Under the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, voters will rank three or four candidates in order of preference, depending on the size of their ward.

New Year is a time for making resolutions and we hope the people of Scotland make a resolution to vote Scotland's political leaders

Alongside that, a first-past-the-post system exists for electing MSPs to constituencies, with a further Additional Member System (AMS) for the election of MSPs to regional lists.

The turnout at the last Holyrood and local elections dipped below 50%, with fewer than two million people in Scotland voting.

Following that, an Electoral Commission report said: "Action is needed across all fronts to prevent further falls and to engage the electorate of Scotland at all levels of government."

The leaders of Scottish Labour, the Scottish Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Greens, the SSP, Solidarity and the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party have combined to rally voters.

In a joint statement, they said: "New Year is a time for making resolutions and we hope the people of Scotland make a resolution to vote in this year's Scottish parliamentary and local government elections on 3 May."