Scottish voters went to the polls Thursday to answer a simple question: âShould Scotland be an independent country?â
By early Friday morning, we learned that
Ballots in some regions have yet to be counted, but itâs clear that the United Kingdom will remain intact.
The vote captivated audiences around the world. You can revisit our live coverage of the historic night below:
1:25 a.m. EDT: Alex Salmond has conceded defeat in the independence referendum. He said he accepts the result and called the vote a âtriumphâ of the democratic process. He also said he expects the unionist parties to keep the promises they made to Scotland.
1:19 a.m. EDT: A disappointed member of the "Yes" camp in Glasgow. (AP photo)
1:01 a.m. EDT: Edinburgh has voted 61% No. With only three regional councils left to report their results, British media are declaring that Scotland will remain in the United Kingdom. Current vote tally is 55% No, 45% Yes for independence.
12:54 a.m. EDT: Salmond also updated his Facebook cover photo a short time ago.
12:44 a.m. EDT: The U.K. prime minister has just tweeted for the first time since Wednesday. Meanwhile, SNP Leader Alex Salmond is thanking the "Yes" camp.
I've spoken to Alistair Darling - and congratulated him on an well-fought campaign.
â David Cameron (@David_Cameron)
Well done to Glasgow, our commonwealth city, and to the people of Scotland for such a incredible support
â Alex Salmond (@AlexSalmond)
12:42 a.m. EDT: British media are reporting that David Cameron will speak about the referendum results early Friday morning, and the Queen is expected to release a written statement in the afternoon.
12:17 a.m. EDT: The BBC and The Guardian newspaper are now predicting that Scotland will reject independence. Current vote tally: 54% No; 46% Yes.
11:54 p.m. EDT: Glasgow, with nearly 500,000 voters, has voted 53% Yes. Turnout was 75 per cent.
11:48 p.m. EDT: North Lanarkshire has voted 51% Yes; South Lanarkshire voted 55% No. Glasgow results expected soon.
11:39 p.m. EDT: Aberdeen City has voted 59% No; East Dunbartonshire 61% No. With 17 regional councils reporting, the overall vote breakdown is now 56% No, 44% Yes.
11:34 p.m. EDT: More results:
- Angus: 56.3% No, 43.7% Yes.
- Dumfries and Galloway: 66% No, 34% Yes
- Stirling: 60% No, 40% Yes
11:24 p.m. EDT: In Falkirk, itâs 53.5% No, 46.5% Yes. We still have 20 regional councils to go.
11:20 p.m. EDT: With 11 out of 32 regions reporting, the overall vote breakdown is currently 53% No, 47% Yes.
11:17 p.m. EDT: Itâs a resounding âNoâ in East Lothian. With a turnout of nearly 88 per cent, 61.7% voted No, while 38.3% voted Yes.
11:14 p.m. EDT: The rollercoaster ride continues. In Midlothian, 56% voted No, 44% voted Yes.
11:11 p.m. EDT: Another Yes vote, this time from West Dunbartonshire. 54% voted Yes, 46% No.
11:02 p.m. EDT: CTVâs Daniele Hamamdjian () has been watching the crowds in Glasgow all night.
4am in George Square. Crowds chanting "Dundee"- the city voted Yes
â Daniele Hamamdjian (@DHamamdjian)
10:56 p.m. EDT: Dundee, which has been called the âCity of Yesâ leading up to the referendum, has lived up to its name, with 57.3% per cent voting Yes, and 42.7 per cent voting No. Turnout was 78.8%.
In Renfrewshire, the vote breakdown is 47.2% Yes, 52.8% No.
10:42 p.m. EDT: This is the current mood at a "No" campaign event in Glasgow. Only five polling regions have reported results, but the "No" vote has prevailed so far. (AP photo)
10:36 p.m. EDT: Another region has voted âNoâ -- by a very slim margin. The result in Inverclyde is 49.9% Yes, 50.1% No.
10:05 p.m. EDT: Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar (Western isles) have voted âNoâ to Scottish independence. Result breakdown is 46.58% Yes, 53.42% No.
9:46 p.m. EDT: The results from Shetland Islands are in: Yes: 36.29%; No: 63.71%. Itâs still early and votes from only three regions have been tallied, but these numbers seem to be shifting the mood on both sides, according to reporters on the ground.
9:27 p.m. EDT: Supporters of the "Yes" campaign are still going strong in Glasgow's George Square. (AP photo)
9:17 p.m. EDT: Results are in from the Orkney Islands: No: 67.20% Yes: 32.80%.
8:56 p.m. EDT: Turnout numbers are still trickling in, some of them surprising.
Turnout in is 75% for Scotland , a bit lower than expected.
â Ben O'Hara-Byrne (@BenCTV)
8:32 p.m. EDT: Referendum results are now coming in by region:
First results in from Clackmannanshire Scotland... No on top. 46% yes 54% no to independence.
â John Vennavally-Rao (@jvrCTV)
7:48 p.m. EDT: The leader of the Scottish National Party, Alex Salmond, sent out a buoyant tweet a short time ago. U.K. Prime Minster David Cameron, however, has been silent on Twitter all day.
This has been a remarkable day. Scotland's future truly is in Scotland's hands.
â Alex Salmond (@AlexSalmond)
7:35 p.m. EDT: Here's the scene at one polling station in Aberdeen, Scotland (AP photo)
7:27 p.m. EDT: Voter turnout numbers are now starting to trickle in by region.
First voter turnout numbers in Scotland's : Orkney 83.7%, Clackmannanshire 88.6%.
â Ben O'Hara-Byrne (@BenCTV)
7:06 p.m. EDT: Canadians of Scottish origin are gathering in pubs and homes across the country, prepared to pull an all-nighter while they wait for referendum results. One of those parties is taking place in Ottawa, where Bryan Lyall says this vote shouldnât be compared to the Quebec referendum of 1995.
âBeing a true Scotsman, I see Scotland trying to get their country back,â he told ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ Channel.
Lyall, who sits on the grand committee of the Scottish Society of Ottawa, said he grew up in an area of Scotland near the English border, âwhere we used to fight against the English all the time.â
âWe liked a good skirmish,â he said. âI can honestly say itâs not the same for Quebec.â
Whether Scotland says âYesâ or âNoâ to independence, âthere will definitely be a partyâ on Friday, Lyall said.
7 p.m. EDT: If youâre following action on Twitter, of all the referendum-related tweets around the world. You can alsoof "Yes" and "No" tweets.
6:38 p.m. EDT: Some important numbers and background info:
- More than 4.2 million people â a whopping 97 per cent of those eligible -- had registered to vote in the referendum
- Vote counting is taking place in 32 regional centres across Scotland
- If the âYesâ vote prevails, Scotland and the U.K. will have 18 months to figure out a separation plan. Scotland has penciled in March 24, 2016 as its Independence Day.
- If youâre just tuning in, .
6:35 p.m. EDT: ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ Channel producer Michael Gillings, a native of Scotland, says the streets of Edinburgh were âquietâ today and people seemed very serious about the vote. âEverybody is anxiousâ and glued to their TVs, waiting for results. âThis is historic in so many ways. Everybody is engaged,â Gillings says.
6:18 p.m. EDT: A lot of the referendum coverage has focused on Scotlandâs youngest voters. For the first time in the U.K., 16- and 17-year-olds were able to cast ballots. In interviews leading up to the vote, many teenagers said they back the pro-independence Scottish National Party because they feel it will offer them a better future.
Friday's Metro front page - "16-year olds who voted on future of a nation"
â Nick Sutton (@suttonnick)
6:08 p.m. EDT: Cal Flyn (), a freelance journalist who is pro-independence, tells ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ Channel that there has been a lot of excitement in Scotland throughout the day.Still, there is âa lot of uncertaintyâ about what will happen if the âYesâ campaign wins.She says most of the mainstream media in the U.K. has been covering the âNoâ campaign. Media and U.K. politicians have been trying to play catch-up ever since the strength of the pro-independence movement became apparent, she says.
6 p.m. EDT: CTVâs John Vennavally-Rao ), reporting from London, says a recent survey suggests half of adults in England donât seem to care that much about what happens in Scotland. There is no sense of panic about the referendum in London, he says.
5:40 p.m. EDT: There are no official exit polls, after people cast their ballots predicts that 54 per cent of people voted âNo,â while 46 per cent voted âYes.â Thatâs based on a survey of 1,828 people, plus 800 people who voted by mail.
5 p.m. EDT: The polls have closed and vote counting begins. ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ correspondents Daniele Hamamdjian and Ben OâHara-Byrne are on the ground in Scotland, while John Vennavally-Rao is in London.
right now. Hundreds in the streets.
â Daniele Hamamdjian (@DHamamdjian)
The pro-independence âYes Scotlandâ campaign sent out this tweet:
Thank you, everyone!
â Yes Scotland (@YesScotland)