Election results in Scotland: Five things to look out for in this year s high-profile counts iwradio.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from iwradio.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is “extremely confident” the party is heading back into power at Holyrood – although she conceded winning an overall majority of MSPs there is a “very, very long shot”.
As early results started to come in from Thursday’s Scottish Parliament elections, the Scottish First Minister downplayed the prospect of winning a majority.
However, she insisted it was an “extraordinary achievement” for her party to win an historic fourth term in power.
The First Minister spoke out as she arrived at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, where votes are being counted.
The coronavirus pandemic means that traditional overnight counting was abandoned, with the results of seats instead being announced over Friday and Saturday.
Nicola Sturgeon said it was “not impossible” that the SNP could win a majority in the Scottish Parliament election, as the party made gains from its rivals in key seats.
Ms Sturgeon’s party captured the seats of Ayr and Edinburgh Central from the Tories, with former SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson gaining the seat in the capital which had previously been held by the Conservative Holyrood leader Ruth Davidson.
The SNP also gained East Lothian from Labour, while Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader who is fighting to retain her Dumbarton seat, said it was “too close to call” there.
The SNP will be the “leading and largest party” in the new Scottish Parliament, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has declared – though he said it is still too early to say if the party will win an overall majority at Holyrood.
Mr Swinney, also the Education Secretary in the Scottish Government, comfortably held his Perthshire North seat, increasing his majority over the Tories.
His was among the first handful of seats to declare as votes were counted after polling day on Thursday.
The coronavirus pandemic meant that traditional overnight counting was impossible, with the results instead being announced over the course of Friday and Saturday.
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ITV News Scotland Correspondent Peter Smith hears from Nicola Sturgeon on whether the Scottish independence debate could reach the Supreme Court
Nicola Sturgeon has told ITV News she is feeling quietly confident about an overall SNP majority and that Scotland will have another independence referendum within the next five years.
She added that the push for another vote on Scotland s future could go as high as the Supreme Court.
In the Scottish Parliamentary election, 65 is the magic number for an overall majority - a figure the SNP is chasing in hope of a mandate for IndyRef2.