LONDON, May 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Nicola Sturgeon on Saturday pledged to push for a second independence referendum as her party secured “historic and extraordinary” fourth consecutive victory in the Scottish parliamentary election.
As the final results have been declared, the SNP will form the next Holyrood government with 64 seats, just one short of an overall majority.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Conservatives have secured 31 seats; Scottish Labour 22, Scottish Greens eight and Scottish Liberal Democrats four.
In an earlier televised speech, Sturgeon said the SNP had won the most constituency seats and secured the highest share of the constituency vote in the history of devolution.
The turnout of 66 percent during Thursday’s election was the highest since the Scottish parliament was established in 1999.
“It is then to kick-start and drive our recovery with an ambitious and transformative programme for government,” Sturgeon said.
“And, yes, when the crisis has passed, it is to give people in Scotland the right to choose their future. All of that is what I promised and all of that is what I intend to deliver.”
Sturgeon said the result of the election meant there was “no democratic justification whatsoever for Boris Johnson (UK PM) or anyone else seeking to block the right of the people of Scotland to choose our future.”
She insisted that holding a referendum was now “the will of the country.”
Earlier Saturday, Johnson told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that it would be “reckless and irresponsible” for Scotland to hold a referendum right now.
“I don’t think this is anything like the time to have more constitutional wrangling, to be talking about ripping our country apart, when actually people want to heal our economy and bounce forward together. That’s what people want,” he said. — NNN-XINHUA
