Humza Yousaf has won the contest to become leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

Mr Yousaf beat rival Kate Forbes by a small majority of 26,032 votes to 23,890 in the second round.

The third candidate, former minister Ash Regan, was eliminated in the first round.

Tomorrow, Yousaf will seek nomination as Scottish First Minister through voting at Holyrood.

If enough support is accrued, his appointment will be confirmed by the King as head of state.

Then on Wednesday, he will then be sworn in at an official ceremony at Edinburgh's Court of Session.

Nicola Sturgeon is expected to formally tender her resignation to the King before the end of the day.

The outgoing premier completed her last official engagement in the role on Friday in Kirkcaldy.

Michael Veitch, CARE for Scotland Parliamentary Officer, said:

"Today marks the end of an eventful contest that was hard fought by each candidate.

"We congratulate Mr Yousaf on his appointment as SNP leader and wish him the very best in this role.

"The issues facing Scotland are seismic, as has been highlighted in the last five weeks.

"Christians across Scotland will continue to pray for the new First Minister and his cabinet”

Picture credit: The cover image in this article is from the Scottish Government Flickr profile with permission under a free cultural works license.