The SNP are set to announce the replacement of Nicola Sturgeon as a competition on the razor's edge

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The SNP are set to reveal who will replace Nicola Sturgeon as party leader and Scottish First Minister as a chaotic and bitter six-week contest comes to an end .

Favorites Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes, along with outsider Ash Regan, will find out shortly after members' ballots close at noon on Monday who has the difficult task of replacing Ms Sturgeon at the helm. of the country.

The SNP's leadership race was rocky, with dramatic resignations and acrimonious clashes over major issues between candidates in live televised debates, ending the reputation for discipline and party unity.

Interim Chief Executive Mike Russell has admitted the party is in "a huge mess" after a major row over membership numbers and the transparency of the contest, while even Ms Sturgeon acknowledged that the party suffered from "pain ers of growth".

Mr. Yousaf, considered the candidate of continuity, is the favorite bookmaker of ers to take over. But the latest Ipsos Scotland poll places him only narrowly among SNP voters, with a clear preference of 11% to 6% for his rival, Ms Forbes.

Inconvenient for the party, Ms Forbes may claim to be the most popular among the general public in Scotland with an approval rating of -8 in the same poll, compared to Mr Yousaf's -20 rating.

Mr. Yousaf - the health secretary who has come under fire from Ms Forbes over NHS waiting lists - once again positioned himself as a continuity pick this weekend, saying he would have the outgoing leader in " speed dial" if elected.

"I have enormous admiration for both Nicola and John [Swinney]. They have already told me that "we are only ever one phone call"... On speed dial, that's what I think I would say [to Nicola]," he said.

Ms Forbes sparked a row with the Scottish Greens - the SNP's coalition partners in government at Holyrood, saying she could govern without them if necessary.

The finance minister, a committed Christian, seemed headed for a very early exit of the contest when she came out with her personal views against same-sex marriage during the first week of campaigning.

Although her campaign has recovered, Ms Forbes said é that she would be happy to lead an SNP-only government if the Greens could not accept her views. "I'm relaxed about leading a minority government," she told the Mail on Sunday.