SCOTLAND GOES TO THE POLLS IN INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM
Voters in Scotland are having their say on whether they should remain part of the United Kingdom.
Over four million people are registered to vote in today’s independence referendum, and they can cast their ballots until 10pm tonight.
Commentators are predicting a record voter turnout of more than 80 percent.
Voters will be asked a simple question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”.
More than 2,600 schools, sports centres and local halls have opened their doors to voters.
After the polls close at 10pm tonight, counting of the votes takes place at 32 regional centres all over Scotland and then once each result is in, the numbers will be sent to the main counting centre in Edinburgh.
The earliest declarations, at around 2am on Friday, will include North Lanarkshire, Orkney, East Lothian and Perth and Kinross.
The latest, at 6am, is expected to be Aberdeen. Dundee is expected at 3am and Edinburgh and Glasgow at 5am.
Our reporter Richard Chambers is in Edinburgh.
He says the only thing either side of the debate is sure about is that it will be a tight result.
“Most of the polls seem to be the ‘No’ side ahead 52 to 48 – that’s about a 4 percent gap, that’d be about 65,000 voters either way” he said.
“So 65,000 voters swinging from one side to the other could end 307 years of political union between Scotland and England, and that’s really a nothing number” he added.
