Scottish election 2021: SNP hopes of majority remain on a knife edge
The SNP has won three key seats but its hopes of securing an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament election remain on a knife edge.
The party has taken both Edinburgh Central – where former MP Angus Robertson was standing for the SNP – and Ayr from the Conservatives.
It also won the East Lothian seat from Labour.
But it fell short in other targets, with counting in the remaining seats due to resume on Saturday.
No other constituencies have changed hands so far, with the SNP currently on 39 seats, the Liberal Democrats four, Tories two and Labour one.
But the opposition parties will see their number of seats increase dramatically once the regional list results are finalised on Saturday.
Polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice said it was now unlikely, but not impossible, that the SNP would achieve an overall majority in the new Holyrood parliament.
And he said there were clear signs that tactical voting by pro-UK voters in some parts of the country had been successful.
The Alba Party, which was founded by former first minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond, looks unlikely to win any seats.