The Scottish National Party (SNP) opened nominations on Tuesday (30) for a new leader, setting up a fractious fight, after first minister Humza Yousaf said he was quitting.
Yousaf, 39, announced on Monday (29) that he would resign once a successor has been chosen to lead the SNP and Scotland.
He had only been in the job for just over a year, but was forced out after ditching his junior coalition partner Scottish Green Party in a row over climate policy.
Candidates to replace him have until Monday (6) next week to declare they are standing, with senior SNP figures backing former deputy first minister John Swinney for the top job.
Swinney, 60, who led the SNP from 2000 to 2004, told journalists in London that he was "actively considering" putting himself forward.
Meanwhile, others have voiced support for former finance secretary Kate Forbes, who has not yet indicated if she will run.
Forbes, 34, finished a close second to Yousaf in the SNP's last bitterly fought leadership contest, prompted by the shock departure of Nicola Sturgeon after eight years at the helm of the pro-independence party.
However, her socially conservative views are seen as a potential hindrance, in particular because she will need the support of another party to either form a governing coalition or pass pieces of legislation.
The new SNP leader, expected to be in place by early June at the latest, will need enough votes in the 129-seat Scottish parliament to be elected first minister.
The party is currently two votes short of an overall majority, so will rely on the support of some opposition lawmakers, such as the Scottish Green Party's seven pro-independence members.
The Greens announced last week they would not support Yousaf in a leadership confidence vote after he scrapped their power-sharing pact, prompting his eventual decision to quit.
Scottish Labour - the third largest party in the devolved parliament - has indicated it will pursue a no-confidence vote in the SNP's government alongside other anti-independence parties, in a bid to force an election in Scotland.
Scots opted against independence in a referendum in 2014, and support for the cause has largely stagnated at around 46 per cent in recent years, according to polls.
The ructions in the SNP, which has dominated Scottish politics for nearly two decades, are being closely watched in London, ahead of a UK general election later this year.
It currently holds 43 seats in the UK parliament, with Labour hoping for a resurgence in its former stronghold north of the English border to help it win an outright majority.
At the 2010 general election Labour won 41 Scottish constituency seats compared to the SNP's six, but saw its support crater in subsequent contests in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
However, Labour has staged a recovery of sorts in recent years, as the SNP has struggled with its domestic record and to keep independence as voters' top issue.
New YouGov polling published on Monday indicated that Labour is now level-pegging in Scotland with the SNP, both on around a third of the vote.
If repeated on election day, it could see Labour potentially win back dozens of Scottish constituencies.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has said a contest will be held in the second half of 2024, with polling over the last two years consistently suggesting the Tories are set for defeat. (AFP)
