FM demands integrity for 2021 Holyrood vote
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called on politicians to do more to ensure the integrity of elections is retained ahead of the 2021 Holyrood vote after Donald Trump employed conspiracy theories in an attempt to undermine the integrity of US polling.
Ms Sturgeon, speaking at her daily coronavirus briefing on Friday, said she felt “f oreboding and discomfort” ahead of Mr Trump’s speech where he claimed, without any evidence, that Democratic candidate for the US presidency was trying to “steal the election”.
Reacting after the incumbent president repeated a l i st ofbaseless claims, Ms Sturgeon was asked whether she was confident Scottish institutions could see off the potential for similar conspiracy theories ahead o f a C o v i d - 1 9 i mpa c t e d S cottish Parliament election in 2021.
Explaining the contingency planning underway for t he S cottish election, t he
Fi r s t Minister s ai d more p o s t a l b a l l o t s a nd more social distancing were likely to be used at the polls.
The First Minister added: “I had a sense of foreboding and discomfort of what appeared to be the denial of basic democratic norms.
"I think it is fair to say that was also my feeling when I watched his speech l ate last night. In any democracy, it is vital that votes are counted and the outcomes are respected.
"This is a big challenge for all of us. The onus ultimately on all of us as individual politicians is to respect that ourselves.”