Tag: count

Holyrood Elections 2021: The count continues

SNP hopes of an absolute majority are hanging in the balance this morning as counting continues in the Scottish Parliament elections.

The SNP have gained three seats so far with no other party making any gains. Overnight the SNP sits on 39 seats (+3), the Liberal Democrats four (-), the Tories on three (-2) and Labour on two (-1). The ‘magic number’ for an overall majority is 65.

The final three Edinburgh Constituencies will declare this morning. All three are currently held by the SNP, and while pro-Union tactical voting has undoubtedly been a feature of this year’s election Gordon MacDonald (Pentlands, majority 2456), Ash Denham (Eastern, 5057) and Ben MacPherson (Northern and Leith, 6081) look likely to return to Holyrood.

Gordon MacDonald faces the toughest challenge – from the Tories – and if tactical voting is to feature here, Pentlands could be vulnerable. If there are to be any changes in Edinburgh this afternoon this would be the most likely upset.

Pentlands is due to declare between 5 – 6pm.

But despite being roundly defeated in the vast majority of constituency votes – with a handful of notable exceptions – opposition parties will see their seat numbers increase significantly today when the regional list results, calculated using a proportional representation system, are announced.

Ironically Holyrood’s ‘fair’ hybrid voting system punishes success. Any SNP constituency gains could be wiped out by resultant losses on the regional lists, and it’s not inconceivable that the new Scottish Parliament could look exactly the same as the 2016 one, with the SNP falling just short of an overall majority.

With 31 constituencies still to declare there’s no doubt the SNP will again be the biggest party – quite an achievement in itself – but if the SNP don’t quite win an overall majority, they will need the support of pro-referendum Green MSPs, voted in through the regional lists, to get them over the line.

2016 all over again? We’ll find out this afternoon.

Postal voters: act NOW to have your say

City’s schoolchildren to attend historic count

referendum flags

A pupil from each of Edinburgh’s 23 High Schools will attend the capital’s referendum count overnight next Thursday – and postal votes are being urged to act NOW to ensure they have their say in the historic vote.

The pupils, who are all first time voters, will be the guests of Edinburgh city council’s Chief Executive and Counting Officer Sue Bruce. They will all be first time voters and will attend the count at Ingliston between 22:00 on Thursday and 07:00 on Friday 19 September.

The pupils will have access to all areas so they can watch proceedings, and Sue Bruce said: “This will be an exciting, once in a lifetime, opportunity for these first time voters and an experience they will never forget.”

More than 76% of Edinburgh’s postal voters have already had their say in the Scottish Independence Referendum – of the 81,648 people who applied to vote in the poll by post, 62,310 have already been returned to the Counting Officer.

City of Edinburgh Council postal vote staff began verifying the returned postal votes on Thursday in preparation for the count next week – but the 24% of people still to return their postal voting pack are being urged to send it as soon as possible, to ensure it arrives with the Returning Officer by 10pm on Thursday, 18th September.
Sue Bruce said: “I am pleased see such a high turnout of postal voters with less than a week to go until the Referendum, but it is essential that all those who have not yet returned their postal voting packs do so as soon as possible.
“It is important that people plan ahead and don’t leave it until the last minute – in order to have your say you must make sure your vote is posted in time to arrive with the Returning Officer by Thursday.”
Those who applied to vote by post should have received a postal voting pack, which includes a ballot paper, a postal voting statement, an ‘A’ envelope to put the completed ballot paper in and a ‘B’ envelope in which to return the ‘A’ envelope.
Postal voting statements must be completed with the correct date of birth and signature and returned with the ballot paper or the vote will not be counted.
The Scottish Independence Referendum will take place across Scotland on Thursday, 18 September. For those planning to vote in person, information on where and how to vote is available on polling cards and on the Council website.
Members of the public who are unsure of whether they have registered to vote can also find further information on the Lothian Valuation Joint Board website.
A total of 377,413 people in Edinburgh have registered to vote in the Referendum.