When will the Scottish Election results be announced - and what were the 2016 results?

The final Scottish Parliament election results will be announced over two days due to the Covid pandemic.

The leaders of three of Scotland's largest parties greet voters as they go to the polls for the Parliament election (Getty Images)

It was dubbed “Super Thursday”, with voters across the country taking to the polls on 6 May for the Scottish Parliament election.

A total of 129 MSPs will be elected to Holyrood to debate and pass laws on devolved issues in the country. Just under 50 seats were declared on Friday 7 May.

The SNP has won every Scottish Parliament election since 2007, and already Nicola Sturgeon’s party is on-track to win a fourth term.

But this year’s election has been unlike any other due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which will impact when the results are announced.

So, when will the outcome of the election be known - and what were the results in 2016?

Here is everything you need to know.

When will the results be announced?

Scots will not know the full outcome of the Scottish election until two days after they vote.

People headed down to polling stations to cast their ballots on Thursday.

However, the Electoral Commission has confirmed the count will take longer this year due to less staff able to work to adhere to social distancing rules.

So, there was no overnight count – and, significantly, no exit poll.

This means that people will not know the full outcome of the vote until two days later on Saturday 8 May.

When will constituencies be declared?

Counting will begin at 9am on Friday and Saturday, although it is not clear how long this will take due to social distancing precautions.

Some results were declared on Friday – including Aberdeen Central, Edinburgh Southern and Midlothian North and Musselburgh.

According to a spreadsheet compiled by the Electoral Management Board, a total of 48 out of 73 constituencies will be declared on Friday throughout the evening.

These include both the most marginal and safest seats from the 2016 vote from Dumbarton to Dumfriesshire.

The marginal contests between the SNP and the Conservatives are not due to be counted until Saturday with list votes expected in the early evening.

Seats due to be counted on Saturday include Aberdeenshire West, and Galloway & West Dumfries, Caithness, and Sutherland and Ross.

In total, 25 constituencies and the 58 regional results are expected to be announced on Saturday.

The regional list seats could be pivotal for the overall result.

Previously, the longest wait for Holyrood results was the day after polling in 2007, following issues with the electronic counting machines.

What were the results in 2016?

In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP won the vote as the largest party in Holyrood with 63 seats (59 out of 73 constituency seats and four regional list seats).

But that result meant a loss of the previous overall majority and six seats less for Nicola Sturgeon’s party.

The Scottish Conservatives led by Ruth Davidson at the time, more than doubled its number of seats from 15 to 31.

That meant the Tories overtook Scottish Labour to become the main opposition party in the parliament, as Labour lost 13 seats and ended up with 24.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens went up from two to six seats, and the Liberal Democrats plateaued on five.