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Polls have closed in Scotland, where millions of voters cast ballots today in an independence referendum that most experts say is too close to call.
The question on the ballot asked voters simply: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” and a record number of voters were expected to turn out for their chance to weigh in on the question.
Local officials said that more than 4.2 million people registered to cast a ballot in the referendum, which represents roughly 97 per cent of all eligible voters. Included in those eligible to vote were people as young as 16.
Earlier in the day, voters had lined up outside some polling stations even before they opened at 7 a.m. For some, it was a day they had dreamed of for decades. For others, the time had finally come to make up their minds about the future — both for themselves and for the United Kingdom.
Local results are expected to come in through the night, as councils tally up what’s expected to be a record number of votes. Final results are expected sometime between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. ET.
A young piper plays in George Square in Glasgow, just a few hours before polling stations closed in the Scottish independence referendum. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Alex Salmond, the first minister who led the independence campaign, made a final effort to woo voters Wednesday, saying the referendum represented an “opportunity of a lifetime.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron made a case for a No vote days earlier, warning that a vote for independence would be “forever” and urging voters to choose to stick together.
CBC’s Nahlah Ayed, reporting from Edinburgh, said there has been a “real sense of occasion” throughout the day as voters went to the polls.
Ayed noted that there was a great deal of excitement, but also a lot of nervousness as people wait for the official results.
Ross Paton, a farmer who has been part of the Yes campaign, told CBC’s Rosemary Barton that he wants independence for Scotland for many reasons — some political, some personal.
Politically, he said, he wanted to see changes to the voting system and some land reform.
“On a more personal political level, I get fed up with the U.K. pretending to be a great power in the world and it actually makes me a bit embarrassed,” he said.
He said he felt independence would help the whole U.K.
“It will create a disruption in the establishment, I think it will democratize the whole of the island at the end of the day.”
British Conservative MP Andrew Percy, who was with the No campaign, said he thinks it will be close, but he’s expecting voters will choose to stay with the U.K., despite some bumbling by the leaders of the No campaign.
The campaign to keep the U.K. together was too negative, he said, calling it a “complete disaster” that failed to connect with many voters in Scotland.
“I think party leaders at Westminster completely failed to wake up to what the nationalists were up to,” he said. “Everybody has been stumbling about last minute trying to get promises out left, right and centre to the Scots to try and make them vote No.”
He said the leaders failed to make the case for Scotland’s place in the union.
Even if the No side is successful, he said, there will still be constitutional challenges because of all the devolution promises that were made.
“There’s going to be a complete and utter constitutional mess that needs sorting out if Scotland votes No,” he said, adding that a No vote doesn’t mean a return to the status quo.
A vote for independence would trigger 18 months of negotiations on how the two countries would separate their institutions before Scotland’s planned Independence Day on March 24, 2016.
Source:: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/scotland-independence-referendum-polls-closed-1.2770853?cmp=rss
