Mary Pitcaithly: the first Scot to know the referendum result

At breakfast time tomorrow all eyes will be on one person: Mary Pitcaithly, the chief counting officer who will announce to the world whether or not Scotland will leave the United Kingdom forever.

Pitcaithly will be the last person in a line of more than 18,800 people working across Scotland to count votes and ensure the referendum goes smoothly – and she will be the first person to know the official outcome of the referendum, which has dominated debate in Scotland and the rest of the UK for the last two years.

So who is Mary Pitcaithly?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Pitcaithly has worked in local government for the last 34 years and in 1998 became the first woman to hold the post of chief executive in one of Scotland's 32 councils. As chief executive of Falkirk Council, she manages a £350m budget and 7,500 staff. She studied law at Edinburgh University and was awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to local government.

Why is Pitcaithly announcing the referendum result?

As well as running Falkirk Council, Pitcaithly is also the convener of Scotland's Electoral Management Board. She therefore has responsibility for ensuring the proper and effective conduct of the referendum, including the poll and count. Pitcaithly is a veteran of election counting nights, having worked as a returning officer since 1998 and dealing with elections for the Scottish, Westminster and European Parliaments as well as Falkirk Council. "My role has been to provide some sort of direction and leadership for people who basically know what they are doing. Most returning officers and their staff are very experienced. It's about providing a framework and degree of assistance," she tells Fife Today.

What will Pitcaithly be doing in the lead-up to the results?

It is a long day for Pitcaithly, who planned to leave her house at 6am today and will not be home for more than 24 hours, says STV. Her office will be dealing with enquiries and calls throughout the day before decamping to the Royal Highland Centre at Ingliston in Edinburgh to do the count. Once the polls close at 10pm tonight, each council will count their votes before phoning the figures through to Pitcaithly, who will then make the announcement in front of the world tomorrow morning.

Is she nervous?

Asked how comfortable she is about having her announcement endlessly replayed for years to come, Pitcaithly says she is trying not to think about it. "I wouldn't be human if I didn't have some nerves about that," she told the BBC. "But to be honest I'm just really focused on making sure that that bit of the process goes well." Despite working on several election nights, Pitcaithly tells the Scottish Daily Record that she still feels a buzz when the votes are coming in thick and fast. "When I get onto the stage I hope I'll be reflecting on a process that gave us a decision in an open and transparent way and one that can be relied upon," she tells the newspaper. "I'm only the one confirming the result, after that it's up to others to decide what it means."