EDINBURGH, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - Pro-unity supporters appear to be in the lead at the Scottish independence referendum in the nation's capital city of Edinburgh, the head of Russia's monitoring mission at the polls told RIA Novosti early Friday.
"Representatives of initiative groups from "yes" and "no" camps are doing their best to tally the votes on their tablets as they are being counted. According to their info, Scottish independence supporters are losing heavily. We are talking about Edinburgh. Those in favor of Scotland's remaining in the United Kingdom are leading 60% to 30%," Igor Borisov said.
Borisov stressed, however, these returns were only preliminary. He also noted that Edinburgh was an area with strong historic ties to Britain.
"Our colleagues from among observers believe that the rest of Scotland will vote a bit differently," he said.
Earlier, opinion polls showed "no" voters to be ahead by several percentage points. Voting results in Glasgow and Dundee, two of Scotland's most populated cities with turnout of almost 90 percent and strong pro-independence campaigning, can still turn the tables on those backing Scotland's future as part of the United Kingdom.
