Humza Yousaf has been named the new leader of the Scottish National Party, succeeding Nicola Sturgeon.


 Following a vote in Holyrood on Tuesday, Humza Yousaf won the SNP leadership election and will most likely succeed Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister of Scotland. Yousaf, who was elected as the youngest MSP in 2011 at the age of 26, has spent weeks battling for the position of next First Minister alongside Ash Regan and Kate Forbes. A total of 50,494 valid votes were cast, representing a 70% turnout. Because no candidate received 50% of the first-choice vote, Regan, who garnered the fewest votes, was eliminated, leaving only Forbes and Yousaf. Forbes won 47.9% of the vote out of the two surviving contenders, while Humza Yousaf obtained 52.1%. "It is difficult for me to find the words to describe just how honoured I am to be entrusted by our membership of the SNP to be the party's next leader and to be on the cusp of being our country's next first minister," Yousaf said after the announcement. He praised his opponents, saying, "It's felt like we've seen each other more than our respective families." "You both have put in an incredible shift, and I know that as Team SNP, we will work hard."

Sturgeon said in February that she will quit after more than eight years in the position once her successor was appointed. SNP members had until noon on Monday to vote, and the results were announced at Edinburgh's BT Murrayfield stadium. The party's leadership election has not gone smoothly, with heated fights between candidates and the abrupt resignation of chief executive Peter Murrell in the aftermath of a scandal over the transparency of SNP membership data. Yousaf, 37, and Forbes, 32, particularly battled over their government records and societal opinions. Prior to the election, polls showed Yousaf as the favorite of SNP voters, with a net favorability of 11%, compared to 6% for Forbes, according to an Ipsos Scotland poll of 1,023 Scots. Regan, widely seen as an outsider for the role, had a net favorability rating of -24% among the general population and -7% among SNP voters. 

By Covenant 




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