The SNP is the only party to have secured a majority in the 22-year history of the Scottish Parliament and - given polling over the past year - is hoping to repeat the feat.
In doing so, it had hoped to reinvigorate the campaign for a second referendum on Scottish independence, having pledged to launch an 11-point roadmap if a majority was secured.
And despite Ms Sturgeon s failure to win an outright majority she immediately called for another referendum claiming it was the will of the country .
Last year polls began to detect a surge in the number of Scots backing independence, with many showing a majority in favour of leaving the UK for the first time in years, but more recent surveys have suggested support has declined.
Boris Johnson has set himself on course for a constitutional clash with Nicola Sturgeon if she pushes ahead with plans for a second Scottish independence referendum - which the PM has called irresponsible and reckless .
Counting continues in the Scottish parliamentary contest, with the SNP leader s hopes of achieving a majority on a knife edge, after a poll predicted the party could miss out by just one seat.
But it is still highly likely the SNP will win its fourth term in power at Holyrood, and Ms Sturgeon said when the time is right she will offer Scots the choice of a better future in a second independence referendum.
SNP wins Scotland as Nicola Sturgeon leads demands for indyRef2
Holyrood election result will shape Scotland s potential journey towards second independence referendum sought by SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon
The majority of results have now been declared in the Scottish Parliament election, with the SNP the largest party but unlikely to secure an overall majority.
The result - which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has described as historic - will shape Scotland s journey towards a potential second independence referendum, dubbed IndyRef2.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) is seeking a pro-independence majority to pressure Prime Minister Boris Johnson to permit another referendum on splitting from the UK, after most Scots voted in 2014 to stay in.
Scottish election results 2021: the charts and maps that show how Scotland voted telegraph.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from telegraph.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Nicola Sturgeon keeps her Glasgow seat but admits an SNP majority is a very, very, long shot amid poll claims that her party could miss out by ONE seat in blow to independence hopes - as early votes suggest a swing to unionist parties
Polls suggest the SNP could fall short of a majority by the tiniest of margins
Sturgeon wants a mandate to hold a new independence referendum
Having to govern with an SNP/Green coalition would weaken her position