BBC News
By Philip Sim
image captionCounting was held across Scotland for two days after Thursday s election
As the dust settles after a marathon two-day count and the winners prepare for life at Holyrood, we look at the facts and figures behind the story of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.
The SNP has been handed a fresh five-year term in government at Holyrood, their
fourth in a row.
By the time it is up in 2026, the party will have been in government for
19 years - and Nicola Sturgeon may be asking for votes from people who were born after she first entered government.
You won’t be taken seriously in the west of Scotland crime business if you don’t have a moniker because a chib mark on the physog just doesn’t cut it sufficiently. So there’s Blinky, and Winky, Piggy and Wingie – he has only one arm, obviously! – then there’s the Iceman, Basil and Birdman and, gone to the great Ponderosa in the sky, are The Licensee, The Godfather, and Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll among others. Carroll headed the “alien abduction” squad, so called because the opponents they seized and tortured couldn’t remember a thing about it when they were interviewed by police afterwards, so thankful were they of their continuing life that they had no wish to further threaten its longevity. “Gerbil” died in a gangland execution in an Asda car park in Robroyston, Glasgow in 2010.
The Conservatives polled 8800 - narrowly beating Labour into third place with 8516.
The Scottish Greens picked up 2333 votes, ahead of the Liberal Democrats on 912 and the Alba party with 629.
Returning officer Kenneth Lawrie declared the number of votes cast in the Central Scotland regional list ballot tonight (Friday) just before 7.30 pm.
Picture Michael Gillen
However, the Falkirk East votes are just one part of the Central Scotland ballot and the full results will not be known until tomorrow when North Lanarkshire s returning officer will announce the final totals.
Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party: 127
Alba: 629