THE Liberal Democrats have held the Orkney constituency – the first to declare in the Scottish Parliament election.
Liam McArthur will return to Holyrood to represent the safe seat after claiming 7,238 votes.
The SNP was in second place with 3369 votes, followed by the Scottish Conservatives on 699 and Scottish Labour on 290.
A total of 11,621 votes were cast, 65.4% of the electorate.
READ MORE: LIVE: Scottish elections: All the news as seats are declared
The LibDem vote was down 5 points, while the SNP's support was up 4.8% on 2016.
Meanwhile the SNP's Jackie Dunbar held Aberdeen Donside, with 51.6% of the vote.
The constituency, formerly held by Mark McDonald, saw a turnout of 58.2%.
SNP support was down 4.4 points while the Tory vote share was up 8 points.
READ MORE: LIVE Scottish Parliament election tracker: Maps and charts show results so far
Meanwhile there are reports of increased voter turnout across Scotland.
The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford tweeted: “The news that turnout is up across Scotland is a victory for democracy and shows people are engaged in this historic election.
“I’m proud (the SNP) extended the vote to 16 & 17 year olds, refugees and foreign nationals with leave to remain – with many voting for the first time.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here