Independence debate heats up as Scots go to vote
Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon meets voters at Annette Street school polling station in Glasgow, Scotland on Thursday.
Scotland was voting on Thursday in a parliamentary election that could trigger a showdown with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over a new independence referendum that might result in the break up of the United Kingdom.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who leads the pro-independence Scottish National Party, has described the election as the most important in the country’s history. She has vowed to demand the legal powers for a referendum on Scottish independence by the end of 2023 if her party wins a majority in the 129-seat devolved parliament in Edinburgh.
All the opinion polls suggest the SNP will win a fourth term in office, but they also indicate a recent dip in support for her party, suggesting that her chances of winning an outright majority are too close to call.
Johnson has already said he would turn down any request as he considers the matter settled in a 2014 referendum. But an emphatic SNP victory would pile pressure on him, analysts say.
Polls in Scotland opened at 6am GMT and will close at 9pm GMT.
Normally, the results are announced overnight with counting started soon after voting close. But the coronavirus pandemic means the votes will not be counted until the following morning. Just over a third of the results will be announced today and the remainder will be announced tomorrow.
“POLLS ARE NOW OPEN,” Sturgeon said in a Tweet. “Please cast #BothVotesSNP TODAY to secure experienced leadership and a better future for Scotland.”
In the 2014 referendum, Scots voted by 55-45 percent to remain in the more than 300-year-old union. However, Britain’s departure from the European Union against the wishes of most Scots, a perception that Sturgeon handled the COVID-19 crisis well, and antipathy to Johnson’s government in London have bolstered support for going it alone.
In yesterday’s election, Scotland is electing all the members of its semi-autonomous parliament, known as Holyrood, which has control over areas such as health care, education and some taxation.
The SNP has said it plans to pass legislation to hold a new referendum by the end of 2023.
