ALBA have elected Kenny MacAskill party leader.
Members chose the former justice secretary over MSP Ash Regan in a ballot to replace the late leader Alex Salmond after his sudden death last October.
A race for deputy leader was held concurrently, and saw former party general secretary Chris McEleny lose out to former MP Neale Hanvey.
MacAskill was elected with 52.3% of the vote to Regan’s 47.7% (1331 votes against 1212), members were told at a party meeting in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
The turnout was 50.8% from an electorate of 5008, as of February 9, 2025.
Hanvey won the deputy leader position with 77.8% of the vote, while McEleny won 22.2%.
In his acceptance address, MacAskill said that a vote for his Alba party would be a vote for the legacy of former first minister Salmond.
“This was of course an election that none of us wanted. It was brought about by a tragedy, the loss of our leader, our founder, and indeed our friend. And we will always remember him.
“Alec is incorporated in his DNA in the issues and essence of Alba Party.
“He would have expected us to do no more than to get on with things to deliver his dream.
“He spent his life campaigning for Scottish independence. He took us close, and it's now up to us to deliver that and take the final steps towards the conclusion of that journey.”
While MacAskill said the details of Alba policy would be worked out at conference, he added: “It already is quite clear that the Alba Party will stand for independence, because the tragedy as Alec always knew, with Scotland, it's not how bad things are … but how much better things should be.
“Other countries in the world, small nations of similar size, who have far less than the natural resource that we possess – not simply in ancient universities, or the bounty of oil and gas and now renewables – have delivered far more for their nation in GDP and other economic indices, and far more for their people as the plight of poverty shows for so many in Scotland.”
MacAskill concluded by saying that a vote for Alba in the 2026 Holyrood elections “will be a vote for independence and it will be a vote for Alex Salmond”.
"Her championing of the cause of independence there, as well as promoting the rights of women and children, has been sterling in its efforts, essential for our country and its people, and Neale and myself will be seeking to do what we can to assist her in all the efforts that she will continue to make."
The leadership race had proven bitter, with both Regan and MacAskill claiming to be the candidate whom Salmond would have wanted to succeed him.
McEleny was also removed from his role as general secretary amid tensions that saw him accuse MacAskill of bullying and harassment.
