NOMINATIONS are open now to replace Nicola Sturgeon as the leader of the SNP, the party has confirmed.
It is not yet known when Nicola Sturgeon will officially step down following her shock resignation announcement on Wednesday morning.
But the SNP confirmed in an email to all members sent on Wednesday afternoon that nominations were now open to put forward candidates to fill her shoes.
With no obvious successor waiting in the wings, it is expected the party will face its first proper leadership election in nearly 20 years.
Sturgeon was elected unopposed in 2014, following Alex Salmond’s resignation after the first independence referendum.
Candidates need the backing of at least 100 members drawn from at least 20 different SNP branches to get their names on the ballot paper, according to the SNP’s constitution.
An email sent by national secretary Lorna Finn to SNP members and shared with The National said the national executive committee, the party’s ruling body, will announce a timetable for the leadership election “shortly”.
It added: “Once the timeline for the process is agreed, that will be announced alongside details on how any potential candidate may indicate their wish to gather a nomination.
“The date for the opening of nominations is today, February 15. All SNP members as of today and who still hold a valid membership at the ballot deadline will be eligible to vote in any ballot.”
The SNP’s last leadership election lasted around two and a half months, following the resignation of then-leader John Swinney.
No campaigns to replace Sturgeon have yet been announced, though it is expected that Finance Secretary Kate Forbes and Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson will stand.
Stephen Flynn, the party’s leader in Westminster, told the BBC the candidate would come from Holyrood, not London.
