The SNP will form the next Holyrood government having won 64 seats - just one short of an overall majority
Party leader and first minister Nicola Sturgeon says she wants to see the country through the pandemic and then "give people in Scotland the right to choose their future"
With all results declared, the Scottish Conservatives have secured 31 seats (no change); Scottish Labour 22 (-2); Scottish Greens 8 (+2) and Scottish Lib Dems 4 (-1)
Smaller parties, including former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond's Alba and George Galloway's All for Unity, won nothing
The turnout of 66% is the highest since the parliament was established in 1999
Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert
The outcome in the Glasgow regional list - four MSPs for Labour, two for the Conservatives and one Green - is in line with the expectations of the BBC prediction.
That's the same in the West of Scotland, where there are three Conservative seats, three for Labour, and one for the Greens.
Pam Duncan-Glancy has been voted in on the Glasgow list
Pam Duncan-Glancy creates another bit of Holyrood history as she becomes the first permanent wheelchair user to be elected as an MSP.
Ms Duncan-Glancy says: "I feel incredibly honoured and privileged to have been given the opportunity to serve."
The Labour MSP, elected on the Glasgow list, was initially refused entry to the count yesterday.
"What happened yesterday happens to disabled people across Scotland and the country, and indeed the world, I'm sure, on a daily basis.
"And it shouldn't. That's one of the reasons why I have always been involved in politics. It's why I'm an activist. It's why I believe in equality and human rights.
"I will speak up for disabled people's human rights."
The SNP won all but one of the 10 constituency seats in the region so they did not pick up any seats on the North East Scotland list.
The Conservatives won four:
Labour won two:
The Scottish Greens won one:
The Lib Dems lost their one list seat in the North East.
Alex Salmond, who was on the Alba party list in the North East, did not win a seat.
The SNP won eight constituency seats out of 10 in the West Scotland region which means they did not pick up any additional seats on the regional list despite getting the most votes.
Labour have won three seats on the West Scotland list:
The Conservatives have won three:
Scottish Greens have won one:
Here are some of the key results and developments as the counting enters its final stages:
Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross has hailed the “best ever result” for his party in the Highlands and Islands after being returned as an MSP for the region.
Mr Ross was joined by party colleagues Edward Mountain, Donald Cameron and Jamie Halcro Johnson, with Scottish Labour, the SNP and the Scottish Greens also winning one list seat each in the region.
“This region is so important to me,” said Mr Ross, who described it as a “great privilege” to represent “this diverse and wonderful part of Scotland” - where he had lived his entire life.
Image source, PAAfter an “extremely competitive” but “at times divisive” campaign, Mr Ross said people were looking for MSPs across the country to work together and show the unity seen during the worst of the Covid pandemic as Scotland emerges from the crisis.
Whatever the final allocation of seats later tonight, Mr Ross added that “democracy has won” because the turnout for this Scottish parliamentary election was the highest ever.
“The fact so many came out and did their democratic duty to vote in this election is encouraging and something we can all welcome at this time,” he added.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie have been re-elected to Holyrood on the Glasgow regional list.
The SNP won all nine constituency seats in the region so they did not get any of the regional list seats.
Scottish Labour took four seats, the Conservatives took two seats and the Greens one seat.
The elected MSPs are:
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says "The people of Scotland must have the right to decide our own future when the Covid crisis has passed."
Ms Sturgeon says a referendum on independence is now "a matter of fundamental democratic principle".
The first minister says there is likely to be a larger pro-independence majority than in the last parliament.
"Both the SNP and Scottish Greens stood on a clear commitment to an independence referendum within the next parliamentary term," she says.
"And both of us made clear that the timing of a referendum should be decided by a simple majority of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament."
Ms Sturgeon said there was "no democratic justification whatsoever" for Boris Johnson to block a referendum.
"If the Tories make such an attempt, they won't be placing themselves in opposition to the SNP, they will be standing in direct opposition to the will of the Scottish people.
"They will demonstrate conclusively that the UK is not a partnership of equals and astonishingly that Westminster no longer sees it as a voluntary union of nations," she added.
"That in itself would be a most powerful argument for Scotland becoming an independent country."
Image source, PA MediaIn her victory speech, Ms Sturgeon outlines her party's "ambitious and transformative programme to kick-start and drive recovery". It includes:
Ben Macpherson has held Edinburgh Northern and Leith for the SNP with a hugely increased majority of 11,569 over Labour.
The Labour vote share dropped by 5.3%.
Lorna Slater, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, came third but she will hope to returned on the Lothian regional list.
It is the last of the Scottish Parliament's 73 constituencies to declare.
There are six regional lists still to declare.
Nicola Sturgeon says: "Absolutely no-one would have predicted the scale and the record breaking nature of our victory at this election."
The SNP leader explains if her party wins 62 constituency seats that is 85% of the total. There is just Edinburgh North and Leith to be declared, but it is expected to be an SNP hold.
"Most of all I want to thank the people of Scotland for putting their trust in me and the SNP once again. We will work to repay that trust every day," she says.
"Wherever you are from, whatever age you are, whatever your background, and no matter who you voted for, the SNP in government is dedicated to working for you."
Her immediate and overriding task will be to keep everyone as safe as possible and guide the country back to normality and on to recovery, she adds.
Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert
Once both sides finish celebrating their victories and commiserating on their failures, they should conclude that this election confirmed the message of the opinion polls – that Scotland is divided straight down the middle on the constitutional question.
We are going to end up in a situation where roughly 50% of people are going to vote for pro-independent parties and roughly 50% of people are going to vote in favour of unionist parties.
It is clear the constitutional question really matters – note the big turnout, and the tactical voting among unionist parties in order to keep the SNP out.
The unionists have been able to stop the SNP from getting an overall majority – despite them getting a record vote share in the constituencies. Ironically, one reason is because despite the claims from the unionists that the constitutional question wasn’t the most important question facing Scotland, the voters have behaved in such a way that they quite clearly think it does.
It is pretty clear from the polls that virtually anybody who votes for the SNP and the Greens is in favour of independence, and virtually anybody who votes for Labour, the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats is opposed.
Add up the voters’ totals when we get them and you will see it will be close to 50-50. So we are well and truly split over the constitutional question.
Therefore if we were to have a referendum at any point in the near future, both Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon would be taking the most enormous political gamble.
Ash Denham has held Edinburgh Eastern for the SNP with a hugely increased majority of 10,117 over Labour.
The SNP vote share was up 5.1% and Labour was down 3.9%.
Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater
Lorna Slater says the Scottish Greens have increased their vote share across the whole of the country.
The party's co-leader says this means people are concerned about the climate crisis and back the party's "transformational politics".
Responding to the prediction that the Greens will win nine seats, Ms Slater says there will clearly be a pro-independence majority in Holyrood.
She argues this is a clear mandate to at least go back to the Scottish people and ask the question.
Ms Slater also insisted there had been no discussions between the Greens and the SNP about any potential coalition.
Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert
We were expecting in the Highlands the Conservatives would get four list seats, Labour one, Green one and the SNP one.
The result is exactly in line with our prediction.
The Central Scotland regional list result of Conservatives three, Labour three, Green one is also in line with our prediction.
The Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has been elected as one of the four Tories on the Highland list - up one from 2016.
The SNP retained its Highland list seat and the Greens picked up one seat.
Labour won one seat, down one.
The elected MSPs are:
Nicola Sturgeon says she said all along that a majority for the SNP was a long shot.
However she adds: "I am thrilled with our result."
The SNP leader says her party has won the highest share and highest number of votes of any party in the history of devolution.
"By any standards this is a historic achievement, a quite extraordinary achievement for the SNP," she adds.
Image source, Getty ImagesMs Sturgeon goes on to say: "I now intend to get back to work to deliver on all of what we put before the Scottish people."
She says her hope to have a second independence referendum in the first half of the parliament remains realistic, but getting through the Covid crisis has to come first.
Anyone from Westminster standing in the way of indyref2 would be standing in the way of the Scottish people, she adds.
Central Scotland is the first of Scotland’s eight parliamentary regions to announce the allocation of its seven list seats under the Additional Member System, a form of proportional representation.
The SNP won all nine constituency seats in the region so they did not get any of the regional list seats.
Scottish Labour got three - down one. The Scottish Conservatives were unchanged on three seats. The Scottish Greens picked up the other seat, the first they have won in the region.
The elected MSPs are: