NICOLA Sturgeon’s resignation leaves her party facing a leadership ballot as well as an imminent vacancy at the head of the Scottish Government.
She briefly referenced what to expect in the coming weeks and months as the SNP begin the process of selecting a new leader.
The First Minister said she had instructed the SNP’s national secretary Lorna Finn to start the election process to pick her successor after eight years in office.
SNP leadership election
The last time the SNP held a proper leadership election – Sturgeon was elected unopposed in 2014 – was in 2004 and Alex Salmond won with a whopping 75.8% of the vote.
No one has as yet come forward publicly to announce their candidacy – though it seems likely that some high-profile members of Sturgeon’s cabinet, including Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Angus Robertson may consider running.
John Swinney - her deputy, a close ally and SNP leader before the party ever came close to power - could also throw his hat in the ring. He would enjoy a reputation as a safe pair of hands given his considerable experience - however some may want new blood in the leadership.
Taking questions from the media after announcing her resignation, Sturgeon declined to say who she would like to see take over. However, she did indicate part of her motivation to step down was to allow a less divisive figure to take over – which may rule out some of her close Holyrood allies.
Her successor does not need to come from the Scottish Parliament. When Salmond was elected as SNP leader for his first term – from 1990 to 2000 – he was the MP for Banff and Buchan.
A date for the election has not yet been announced. The 2004 election was triggered with the resignation of Swinney on June 24 and concluded on September 3 – around two and a half months.
The upcoming contest could be expected to last as long. If it does, the SNP’s upcoming special conference to decide the party’s independence strategy would likely be delayed.
According to the SNP constitution, a candidate for leader must have the nominations of at least 100 members, drawn from at least 20 branches.
The close of nominations will be 77 days after nominations opened, the document states.
An SNP spokesperson said: "Following First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's announcement today, SNP [National Executive Committee] will agree a timetable for all SNP members to be able to choose a new party leader in line with the process set out in the SNP constitution.
"Should there be a contest, with two or more applicants, then the selection of the new leader will be held on a democratic one-member-one-vote basis.”
First Minister election
It is extremely likely whoever succeeds Sturgeon will also take over as First Minister because of the majority pro-Yes bloc in the Scottish Parliament.
The post is filled by a vote among MSPs and any member of the parliament can put themselves forward for the role.
The SNP and Scottish Greens’ Bute House Agreement means the smaller party supports the larger to command a majority in Holyrood and Sturgeon indicated at the press conference on Wednesday that she expected this to continue after she had officially left office.
