The 2023 Scottish National Party leadership election is due to take place to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) to succeed Nicola Sturgeon. Sturgeon announced her resignation on 15 February 2023, effective upon the selection of her successor. Nominations closed on 24 February 2023 with three candidates: Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes. Voting will begin on 13 March and close on 27 March, with the leader to be declared that day. Background Nicola Sturgeon led the SNP in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, forming a minority government. She again led the party into the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, which led to a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. Over the same period, the party won a majority of seats in each of the 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections, winning all but one seat in Scotland in the 2015 election. Sturgeon's government advocated for another Scottish independence referendum, but in 2022 the UK Supreme Court ruled they did not have the legal standing to hold one without agreement from Westminster. On 25 May 2022, she became the longest-serving first minister of Scotland since the role was established in 1999, surpassing the record held by Salmond. On 15 February 2023, Sturgeon announced her intention to stand down as the leader of the SNP and first minister, saying that she would remain in office until a new leader was elected. Sturgeon insisted that her resignation was not due to "short term pressures" but said that the job "takes its toll on you." She said she would remain in office as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) until the next Scottish Parliament election, expected to be held in 2026. Her husband, Peter Murrell, remains the SNP's chief executive. Sturgeon said that the timing of her decision was determined by an impending special SNP conference to decide the party's strategy on independence, which had been due to take place on 19 March 2023. Her proposal for the event was that the next general or Scottish Parliament election should be treated as a de facto referendum on independence. This plan was controversial within the party. Among others, the leader of the SNP in the House of Commons, Stephen Flynn, called for the conference to be postponed following Sturgeon's resignation. The party's national executive committee decided on 16 February 2023 to postpone it. Sturgeon's resignation came during an ongoing dispute