LONDON: The leading candidate for the Scottish National Party leadership claims that within five years of independence, a monarch-free Scotland would be a reality.
The Scottish newspaper The National quoted Health Minister Humza Yousaf as saying that Scotland could get rid of King Charles III and have an elected leader instead.
Voting opened on Monday to determine who would succeed Nicola Sturgeon as party leader and Scottish first minister, and Yousaf, one of the most senior Muslim politicians in Scotland, is the favorite.
Yousaf told the paper that regional assemblies needed to start talking about “what kind of Scotland” they wanted to see, and that it did not involve the British monarchy.
“Let’s also discuss the monarchy,” he added. I don’t see any reason for us to avoid talking about that. I’m a Republican, and I’ve made that abundantly clear. That is not something I have ever tried to conceal.
“Let’s absolutely within the first five years consider whether or not we should move away from having a monarchy into an elected head of state,” Yousaf, who sees himself as a “citizen, not a subject,” added.
He expressed his desire for Scotland to adopt the new Scottish currency “as soon as possible.”
