The final details of Scotland’s independence vote will be ratified by MSPs today.
MSPs will vote on stage 3 of the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill following a final Holyrood debate on the legislation this afternoon.
If passed, the bill will confirm that the people of Scotland will vote in a referendum on September 18 next year on the question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
It also confirms that, as previously outlined, the vote will be run to the highest international standards and will be overseen by the independent Electoral Commission.
The legislation follows the Edinburgh Agreement signed by both the Scottish and UK Governments which confirmed it was for the Scottish Parliament to introduce the bill, which sets out the details of how the referendum will be organised and regulated.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “If passed by MSPs today, the Referendum Bill will put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s own hands for the first time in more than 300 years.
“It is a special moment for any country to be given the opportunity to decide its own future in the peaceful democratic way we are doing now in Scotland, and that is something worth pausing and reflecting on as we reach this stage of the process.”