Britain witnesses Scots choosing their future (Roundup)

Whether Scotland remains part of the United Kingdom or opts for a new independent identity was due to be announced Friday morning, as the Scots voted in a referendum Thursday while the rest of Britain watched with bated breath.

The authorities set up 5,579 polling stations. As nearly 4.3 million people registered to vote, which translates to 97 percent of those who are eligible to do so, it was expected to be the busiest day in Scottish electoral history.

On entering a polling booth the voters were expected to reply to: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" The answer had to be "Yes" or "No".

Strict rules meant no media being allowed to report details of campaigning until after the polls close.

The leader of the "Yes" campaign and Scottish Nationalist Party leader Alex Salmond, and the unofficial standard bearer of the "Better together" crusade Gordon Brown were out early to cast their votes. But pictures of them outside polling stations were all that could be depicted by media, as sound bytes or any reporting of campaigning were debarred on voting day.

An opinion survey published Wednesday night by You-Gov projected "No" supporters at 50 percent and "Yes" supporters at 45 percent, with the rest being "don't knows".

"From an Indian point of view, clearly a vast majority are backing the 'No' campaign as they see more risk and not sufficient emotional reward," RAY media quoted Karthik Subramanya, president of the Scottish Indian Arts Forum, as saying.

A number of councils around the country said polling stations were busy, with some seeing queues both ahead of the polls opening and throughout Thursday morning.

"There has been a steady stream of voters and we have been very busy," BBC quoted Stirling Council area counting officer Bob Jack.

In East Renfrewshire, one of 32 council areas of Scotland, there were queues before the polls opened Thursday morning and a steady stream since, a council spokeswoman said, adding that some voters have been kissing their ballots.

After the polls close, ballot papers were to be counted in each of Scotland's 32 local authority areas. These will include votes cast from the 789,024 postal vote applications, which was the largest volume of registration for postal votes yet in Scotland.

Once the results from all areas are known, chief counting officer Mary Pitcaithly in Edinburgh will declare the result of the referendum at the Royal Highland Centre outside Edinburgh.

Pitcaithly has said she will announce the result at "breakfast time" Friday.