Glasgow - All eyes will be on Scotland on Thursday as the Scottish National Party looks set for a landslide victory north of the border in Britain's general election, a result that could hand it the role of kingmaker.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the vote could be a "watershed" where Scots reject Labour, the party that has represented them for generations, fundamentally altering the balance of power in British politics.
"The weather may be a wee bit drench (miserable) in Edinburgh this morning but the outlook for Scotland is sunny -- very sunny," she told a final campaign event on Wednesday surrounded by cheering supporters.
Across Britain, Thursday's vote remains too close to call, with Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and the opposition Labour party neck and neck in the opinion polls.
But in Scotland, it is a very different story.
Despite losing last September's referendum on Scottish independence, the SNP looks on course to win more than 50 of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons -- up from just six at the last election in 2010.
Most of these would be at the expense of Labour, which won 41 Scottish seats five years ago. Losing these would make it very hard for Labour to win a majority in the 650-seat House of Commons.
With the Conservatives also likely to fall short of a majority, both sides may well have to turn to smaller parties to form a government -- giving the SNP and its anti-austerity message a strong hand.
"Whether (you) voted Yes or No in the referendum or have never voted SNP before, it is an opportunity to come together as a country and vote to make our voice heard at Westminster," Sturgeon said.
AFP
