Current MSP: Kenny MacAskill (SNP) [MSP website]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | +/– | % | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Kenny MacAskill * | 14552 | +4025 | 47.4 | +12.9 | |
| Labour | Ewan Aitken | 12319 | +1247 | 40.1 | +3.8 | |
| Conservative | Cameron Buchanan | 2630 | -1347 | 8.6 | -4.5 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Martin Veart # | 1227 | -3716 | 4.0 | -12.2 | |
| Majority | 2233 | Turnout | 30728 | Swing | +4.5% | SNP hold |
Edinburgh Eastern consists of areas from the former Edinburgh East & Musselburgh (65%), Edinburgh South (31%) and Edinburgh Central (4%) constituencies. This moved the seat to be notionally Labour on the basis of the 2007 results. The seat was a clear two-horse race between Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and Councillor Ewan Aitken, former leader of City of Edinburgh Council and a Church of Scotland Minister.
Notes: Given boundary changes since 2007, variations in votes and share between seats with different boundaries would be misleading. We use the Denver figures, essentially a calculation of the 2007 votes cast within 2011 boundaries. More information on this here.
Symbols used:
* – Incumbent
^ – Challenger holding a list seat in previous Parliament
# – Lost deposit
| National | Central Scotland | Glasgow | Highlands & Islands | Lothian | Mid-Scotland & Fife | North East Scotland | South Scotland | West Scotland |
| Almond Valley | Edinburgh Central | Edinburgh Eastern | Edinburgh Northern & Leith | Edinburgh Pentlands | Edinburgh Southern | Edinburgh Western | Linlithgow | Midlothian North & Musselburgh |