THE SNP’s Kaukab Stewart yesterday made history as the first woman of colour to be elected to Holyrood.
The teacher, who stood in the very first Scottish Parliament election against Donald Dewar, won with a majority of 5458 over the Greens.
She takes over the Glasgow Kelvin constituency seat from the SNP’s Sandra White, who was one of the MSPs retiring from Holyrood this year.
In an emotional victory speech met with loud applause, Stewart said: “We are lucky to have one of the most diverse, vibrant communities in Kelvin and it is without doubt an honour to be elected as the first woman of colour to the Scottish Parliament.
“It has taken too long, but to all the women and girls of colour out there, the Scottish Parliament belongs to you too.
“So whilst I may be the first, I will not be the last.”
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Speaking to reporters afterwards she added: “I feel honoured and I haven’t processed it really – but it has been a long time coming.”
Nicola Sturgeon applauded Stewart as she arrived at the count to congratulate her new parliamentary colleague.
She said: “I have never wanted to hug someone so much in my life,” the First Minister said, adding she was “thrilled beyond words” at the result.
“It has taken us far too long, more than 20 years, but today she becomes the first woman of colour to be elected to our national Parliament,” she said.
“Party politics aside this is a really special and a very significant moment for Scotland and I could not be prouder right now.”
Glasgow Kelvin had been a key seat for the SNP to hold – and Stewart comfortably saw off a challenge from the Green’s co-leader Patrick Harvie who was bidding to become the first from his party to win a constituency seat in Scotland.
She won 14,535 votes compared to 9077 picked up by the Greens.
Her success was the most dramatic moment in day two of the count at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena.
The other three constituency seats declared were held comfortably by the SNP.
This followed on from four SNP wins in Glasgow constituencies on Friday, including Sturgeon in Glasgow Southside.Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar retained his seat on the Glasgow regional list as his party held four seats in the area.
There was no change from the 2016 results, with two Conservatives elected along with Harvie.
Labour’s Pauline McNeill held her seat, as did Tory Annie Wells.
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Former MP Paul Sweeney will return for Labour while Pam Duncan-Glancy was also elected for the party and Sandesh Gulhane for the Conservatives.
The clear message from the winners yesterday was the SNP’s success in the election means Scotland has the right to determine its own future.
The first seat to be declared was Glasgow Provan, which saw Trade Minister Ivan McKee returned. He won 15,913 votes, Labour’s Martin McElroy won 8683 and the Greens’ Kim Long won 2366.
The second result yesterday afternoon was Glasgow Cathcart, which was held by the SNP’s James Dornan. He won 21,728 votes, Labour’s Craig Carson took 11,332 votes and the Conservatives’ Euan Blockley got 4041.
Dornan praised the record numbers in Glasgow who had turned out to vote and said Sturgeon’s leadership through the pandemic was a “shining example” of why Scotland should be independent. He predicted a referendum would happen in the next five years.
Glasgow Shettleston was also held by the SNP, with John Mason retaining his seat on 17,465 votes.
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