Lib Dems Win in Scotland's Orkney and Shetland in UK General Election

LONDON (Sputnik) — The Scottish National Party (SNP) has failed to gain victory in the Orkney and Shetland constituency, having been surpassed by the Liberal Democrats, which means that the SNP will not secure all 59 seats possible at Westminster.

According to the exit poll announced immediately after the Thursday voting in the UK general election stopped, SNP was coming third with 58 out of 59 possible seats.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon urged to exercise caution with regard to exit poll results, saying on Twitter that she considered 58 seats to be an "unlikely" result for her party.

According to the BBC/ITV/Sky exit poll, the Labour Party secured 239 seats, while the Conservatives won 316. The Liberal Democrats secured 10 seats.

To form a majority government a party needs to win 323 seats. In the absence of a clear leader, the three possible outcomes of the UK general election are a formal coalition, a so-called confidence and supply agreement between the parties, or cooperation on a vote-by-vote basis.

SNP is predicted to have a high chance of emerging as the biggest gainer in the 2015 UK general election, despite having failed to drum up enough votes in last year's Scottish independence referendum.