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So Scotland will stay with England, Wales and Northern Ireland as part of Great Britain though a significant number also voted for Yes as results were declared on Friday.

 

After 31 of 32 councils's results were announced, it was clear that Scotland said No to independence.

 

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has accepted the verdict of defeat and thanked voters for a 86 percent turnout.

An organization called  Yes Scotland  representing the parties, groups, and individuals campaigning for a Yes vote in the Scottish independence referendum, 2014, which was launched in Edinburgh on 25 May 2012, said "whenever people look at and consider the issues, it becomes clear to them that Scotland can, should and must become an independent country." 

 

Yes Scotland is the main campaign group for independence, while Better Together is the main campaign group to maintain the union.  

 

Counting began after polls closed on Sept 18.  

Following an agreement between the Scottish and the United Kingdom governments, the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill, setting out the arrangements for this referendum, was passed by the Scottish Parliament in Nov 2013. 

 

The referendum question, as recommended by the Electoral Commission, is "Should Scotland be an independent country?" – voters can answer only Yes or No. To pass, the independence proposal requires a simple majority. All residents in Scotland aged 16 or over can vote, which is a total of about 4.3 million people.