The Scottish Nationalists (SNP) of Prime Minister Nicolas Sturgeon have won regional elections, but the party did not get an absolute majority in the Scottish Parliament. The BBC reports this on the basis of a forecast. The majority in parliament has signed a new referendum with the support of the Green Party.
Scotland went to the polls on Thursday to elect a new parliament (129 seats). The SNP will probably have 63 seats, two less than the majority.
The party went to the polls promising to hold another referendum on the Scottish split from the United Kingdom. In an earlier poll, in 2014, 55 percent voted to stay in the UK longer.
Two years before the Brexit referendum, it led the UK to leave the EU. Sturgeon wants an independent Scotland to return to the EU.
Block voter pledge
British Prime Minister Johnson has already said he will not allow such new advice. SNP leader Sturgeon called it absurd “others are trying to block promises made to the winning party’s voter”.
He reiterated that he wants to go to a new referendum. It is not yet clear how she wants to do this. But the SNP has a clear majority in the new parliament, along with the Green Party, which supports the new referendum. The Greens are in the BBC’s forecast in nine places.
