EDINBURGH - Votes cast for and against Scotland's independence in a historic referendum were running virtually neck and neck, early results showed on Friday as the count continued, but leading "No" campaigners suggested that victory was in sight.
Votes are counted in the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland, on September 18, 2014
With 13 percent of the votes counted, the ballots in favour of Scotland staying in the United Kingdom were in the lead by a sliver at 50.95 percent to 49.05 percent.
Turnout in the nine out of 32 local areas that have declared results so far was at record highs at more than 85 percent.
"No" supporters were confident of victory, however, and experts said it looked like the pro-union camp would clinch it.
"The evidence that the 'No' side are going to win is beginning to stack up," polling expert John Curtice from Strathclyde University told the BBC.
"But equally however we also are beginning to look at a 'No' success that is nothing like as substantial as they probably expected," he said.
Millions of Scots turned out on Thursday with queues snaking outside polling stations after a campaign that has sparked fevered debate across Scotland and is being closely watched around the world.
Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael, a "No" supporter, told AFP: "It's early days but it's looking fairly good."
Michael Gove, Conservative former minister and confidant of Prime Minister David Cameron, told Sky News that "fingers crossed", the union appeared safe.
"The result looks disappointing," admitted Patrick Harvie, a member of the Scottish parliament for the Green Party and "Yes" campaigner.
Crowds gathered for all-night parties in Glasgow and Edinburgh, draped in the blue-and-white Saltire flags of Scotland and setting off flares.
"We are going to stay out till the result," said Dylan McDonald, 17, one of Scotland's 16- and 17-year-olds who have been able to vote in a referendum for the first time after the qualifying age was lowered.
The historic decision gripped many Scots who previously took little interest in politics, igniting passions and raising the prospect of deep changes to the governance of the union no matter the result.
Cameron promised greater powers for Scotland's parliament in a last-minute bid to convince voters to stay in the union, prompting politicians in his Conservative party to call for the same treatment for England.
He will speak on the future of the United Kingdom as soon as the referendum outcome is issued, and if independence is rejected he is expected to announce plans to change the division of power in the highly-centralised union.
- 'Vote yes... for us' -
Some ballot boxes were brought by helicopter and others by boat from remote islands to be counted after polls closed.
The closure of the airport on the Isle of Lewis due to fog meant ballot boxes would have to make the slower journey by fishing boat.
Election officials in Glasgow said they had contacted police over a handful of allegations that people had turned up to vote only to find their names already crossed off the ballot sheet.
The question for voters at Scotland's more than 5,000 polling stations was "Should Scotland be an independent country?" and they are asked to mark either "Yes" or "No".
International media descended on the Edinburgh venue where the city's ballots will be totted up to witness a count that could have repercussions from Spain to Canada.
The SNP has said it hopes for full independence by 2016 if it wins, and a range of separatist movements sent representatives to Scotland to learn from the election.
"Scots, please, vote yes, for yourselves, but also for us," Daniel Turp from the Parti Quebecois said at a press conference in Edinburgh where 29 European separatist movements also signed a declaration calling for self-determination.
A palace spokesman told Sky news Queen Elizabeth II was following events from her family home Balmoral Castle in rural Scotland and is expected to comment later on Friday.
- 'Ripped out of the UK' -
Many people in the rest of the United Kingdom are concerned about the prospect of Scottish independence, which would sever a deep bond and cut the UK's surface area by a third.
"At last the threat we have over Scotland's future may be lifted if people vote the right way," said pensioner Alistair Eastern, 60.
"We just have to hope that it turns out with the right result and Scotland isn't ripped out of the United Kingdom by the nationalists."
A "Yes" vote would not mean independence overnight but would trigger complex talks on how to separate two intertwined economies and eventually end a union dating back to 1707.
A lot of the debate has focused on the economy, what currency an independent Scotland would use and whether it could be a member of the European Union.
Scotland's Parliament, opened in 1999, holds some powers devolved from Westminster to set policy in certain areas of domestic policy, such as health and education.