Humza Yousaf gets backing to take over SNP from Sturgeon

Glasgow, UK, Mar 27 (EFE).- Humza Yousaf is to replace Nicola Sturgeon as the new leader of the Scottish National Party and is poised to become country’s first minister after a parliamentary vote.

Scotland’s former health minister is widely regarded as a continuation of Sturgeon’s politics and got the backing of party members over rivals Kate Forbes and Ash Regan in a vote revealed Monday after a campaign that exposed rifts in the pro-independence SNP.

Yousaf made history by becoming the first Muslim to lead a major party in the UK and will do so again when he becomes first minister of Scotland after a vote in the Scottish parliament on Tuesday.

“Know that I will be a first minister for all,” he told a press conference after the results of the party vote were announced.

At 37, Yousaf represents a progressive wing of the SNP party, a big tent outfit that encompasses left and right politics.

Yousaf thanked his predecessor Sturgeon, who announced her decision to resign in February.

Sturgeon is Scotland’s longest serving first minister and the first woman to hold the office. Under Sturgeon, the SNP has retained its status as Scotland’s dominant political force and is currently the third largest party in the United Kingdom.

Yousaf, the son of immigrants from Pakistan and Kenya, will be tasked with setting out a strategy for the SNP and also healing the wounds revealed in an at times bitter leadership campaign. EFE

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