Polls have opened in Scotland as voters choose whether to become independent from the United Kingdom in a historic referendum. Opinion polls show the "No" camp with just a slight advantage over the secessionists, reports GHN based on DW.
People in Scotland on Thursday began castingt their ballots at 7:00 a.m. local time (0600 UTC) in favor of or against maintaining the nation's 307-year union with the United Kingdom.
There was intense campaigning ahead of the poll, culminating in a final day of action on Wednesday in which both sides took to the streets.
"It's the greatest, most empowering moment that any of us will ever have," Scotland's pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond said at the final event of the campaign on Wednesday, while supporters waived Scottish flags and chanted "Yes we can."
Just hours before voting booths opened, Salmond told a crowd of his supporters in Perth that Thursday's referendum was the "opportunity of our lifetime."
British Prime Minister David Cameron, meanwhile, has pleaded with voters in Scotland to reject independence and remain in "our home." Scotland's potential exit from the UK, which could force Cameron to resign, would be a "painful divorce," rife with economic uncertainty, he added.
Five surveys, conducted by pollsters YouGov, Panelbase, Survation Opinium and ICM, showed that those against independence led secessionists at 48 percent to 52 percent. With just hours to go until voting began, as many as 600,000 Scots remain undecided.
A record turnout of around 80 percent is expected for Thursday's referendum. Some 97 percent of Scotland's people eligible to vote have registered ahead of the poll.