Humza Yousaf wins contest to become Scotland's new leader

Humza Yousaf, a South Asian-origin politician, was pickedon Monday (March 27) toreplace Nicola Sturgeon as head of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The 37-year-old Yousaf netted 52 per cent of the final votes of SNP members.

Yousaf will not replace Sturgeon as Scottish first minister until a vote by MSPs, which is due to take place at Holyrood tomorrow.

He said he felt like the "luckiest man in the world" as he made his victory speech and also vowed to be "the generation that delivers independence".

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After the result was announced, Yousaf said he would make a renewed push for independence and also that he would concentrate on tackling the cost of living crisis as he set out his goals.

"The people of Scotland need independence now more than ever before, and we will be the generation that delivers it," he said in Edinburgh after the result.

"I was determined then, as I am now, as the 14th leader of this great party, that we will deliver independence for Scotland – together as a team," he said, adding Scotland is a European nation.

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Yousaf's victory was confirmed at the capital's Murrayfield rugby ground after a six-week campaign where the three candidates spent much of the contest criticising each other's record in a series of personal attacks.

Yousaf won 24,336 of the votes of the SNP's members in the first round, while his main rival Kate Forbes 32, Scotland's finance minister, came second with 20,559 votes. Ash Regan, who quit the government because of her opposition to proposed changes to gender recognition, was third with 5,599 votes.

After winning, Yousaf thankedhis family, and his campaign staff, calling them all "very special people". He said,"I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for the support, encouragement and hard work of a number of people."

Thanking his "amazing wife" Nadia, who according to Yousaf is not just his rock but his "compass who helps guide me through the most difficult of times".

(With inputs from agencies)

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