CHANNEL 4 has been branded “anti-democratic and out of touch” after failing to invite Alba to participate in its televised leaders’ debate.

The news comes after a third Panelbase poll, published today, put the party on 6% on the national regional list vote.

James Kelly of ScotGoesPop said this would equate to eight Alba MSPs in the next Scottish Parliament. Ballot Box Scotland’s seat projection estimated Alba would return six MSPs from this vote share.

Either way, the poll predicts that Alba are on course to return more MSPs than Willie Rennie’s Scottish LibDems, who show no change from their current five in either projection.

Alba’s founder Laurie Flynn announced at the beginning of April that his party had reached 4100 members, more than the most recently reported figure from the LibDems.

However, Rennie has been invited to participate in the Channel 4 debate, whereas Alba has not.

READ MORE: Scottish party leaders to go head-to-head in first UK-wide TV debate

The Scottish LibDem leader will join SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, and Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie on stage in Glasgow for the debate.

Last week, Channel 4 announced it would be broadcasting a Scottish leaders’ debate live across the UK on April 27. It will be the first debate to be shown UK-wide, with others only being televised north of the Border.

Journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy will chair the debate, which will cover set topics with challenges between leaders allowed.

Guru-Murthy posted on Twitter to ask which topics social media users would like to see covered, with a large number of responses saying they would like to see Alex Salmond’s party included.

However, Alba has not been invited to participate, in a move the party panned as “anti-democratic”.

The National: Chris McEleny

Alba's lead candidate on the West Scotland list, Chris McEleny (above), told The National: "On the day that a Panelbase poll shows Alba on course to win seats in every region of Scotland and ahead of the Liberal Democrats in both votes and seats, you might think that it would be newsworthy to include Alba.

“These so called news hounds wouldn't know a story if it bit their hand off. The story of this election is Alba rising and the fact that the flame of independence is catching fire in the housing schemes of working class Scotland.

"The decision by Channel 4 not to invite Alba to take part in tonight's Scottish Election Leaders’ Debate is not only anti-democratic but shows just how out of touch the metropolitan elite are with what is happening on the ground in Scotland.

"Alba is standing on the most ambitious and radical manifesto of any party in this election. As independence voters come to realise that a vote for the SNP is wasted on the list in every region, so they are backing Alba to deliver the independence supermajority that will deliver the change Scotland needs."

READ MORE: Poll predicts SNP, Greens and Alba will form large pro-independence majority

Kelly, whose ScotGoesPop blog commissioned today’s Panelbase poll, said that Alba “will arguably have succeeded in bringing about the 'supermajority' they promised” if the results predicted play out.

However, polling from companies other than Panelbase has not put Alba as high as 6%. A Savanta ComRes poll last week put Alba on 1% on the list, while a YouGov poll over the same period had the party on 2%.

Alba’s leader Alex Salmond has complained to regulator Ofcom over an alleged “virtual blackout” of his party from the BBC.

He accused the public broadcaster of having “learnt nothing from their blatant bias of 2014”.

STV also did not include Alba in their televised debate, but Salmond said he had not complained about them as they had “at least made some attempt at balance”.

The BBC stressed that they are on the same page as STV and said they believed they had “provided the Alba Party with appropriate and proportionate coverage”.

Channel 4 has been contacted for comment.