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SCOTLAND’S latest batch of MSPs were sworn in today, with the Scottish Greens’ Alison Johnstone elected as presiding officer.
Those who were voted in at last week’s election travelled to Holyrood before being sworn in, with Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar among the first to take the oath.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie reasserted that his party’s “allegiance lies with the people of Scotland who elected this Parliament and who are sovereign, and we look forward to the day when they can choose their own elected head of state.”
Ms Johnstone, an MSP for the Lothians, was the only candidate for the role of presiding officer. She won 97 votes, with 28 against and two abstentions, while one MSP spoiled their paper in the secret ballot.
Her ascension to the role means that the SNP draws even in the number of Holyrood seats, with all opposition parties combined on 64, as the presiding officer must relinquish their party affiliation.
