SNP leader John Swinney became the first of 129 MSPs to take the oath of office at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, using the ceremony to declare his "primary loyalty" to the "people of Scotland."
Oath of Allegiance Ceremony
A week after the Scottish Parliament elections, Mr Swinney and all other newly elected MSPs lined up to swear their allegiance to King Charles and his successors. However, before taking the oath, Mr Swinney stated: "Before I take my oath, let me pledge that the primary loyalty of the Scottish National Party is to the people of Scotland, in line with the constitutional principle of the sovereignty of the people."
As leader of the largest party, despite the SNP's tally dropping from 64 to 58 MSPs, Mr Swinney is still expected to be formally re-elected as Scotland's first minister in a vote at Holyrood next week.
Other Party Leaders Sworn In
Following Mr Swinney, Reform UK's Scottish leader Malcolm Offord took his oath. With both Reform and Scottish Labour holding 17 MSPs each, alphabetical order determined Lord Offord would go next, followed by Scottish Labour's Anas Sarwar.
Prior to the ceremony, campaigners from Stand Up To Racism Scotland staged a small demonstration outside Holyrood, branding Reform as "racist through and through." Reform MSPs had already entered the building before the protesters arrived, while Scottish Green co-leaders Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer showed their support as they walked in.
The Green co-leaders took their oaths after the party secured its best ever Holyrood result. Mr Greer declared their "ultimate loyalty" is "not to King or Crown, but to the people of Scotland." Similarly, Ms Mackay said: "My oath is to the people of Scotland, who are sovereign."
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton followed.
Multilingual Oaths
Several MSPs took their oaths in additional languages. SNP's Karen Adam used British Sign Language, which she learned as a child to communicate with her deaf father. New Green MSP Holly Bruce took her oath in Doric, a traditional Scots dialect. Green Highlands and Islands MSP Ariane Burgess used Scottish Gaelic, while North East Scotland MSP Maggie Chapman spoke in Shona, the most common language in Zimbabwe, where she was born and raised.
New Liberal Democrat MSP Yi-pei Chou Turvey, born in Taiwan and raised in Brussels, took her oath in both Mandarin and French. Fellow newly elected Lib Dem Sanne Dijkstra Downie, who grew up in the Netherlands, used Dutch.
Next Steps for Holyrood
After being sworn in, MSPs will vote on the next presiding officer, who oversees debates and First Minister's Questions. Four candidates have put themselves forward: Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur, who served as deputy presiding officer for five years, and SNP members Kenny Gibson, Stuart McMillan, and Clare Haughey.
