Former Scottish first minister Salmond announces launch of new pro-independence Party

GLASGOW: Ex-Scottish first minister

Alex Salmond

, who formerly headed the

Scottish National Party

(

SNP

),
announced on Friday the launch of a new pro-independence political party, the Alba Party, which he is set to lead into the upcoming Scottish parliamentary

elections

.



"Today, I'm announcing the public launch of a new political force, the Alba Party. Alba will contest the upcoming Scottish elections as a list-only party under my leadership seeking to build a supermajority for independence in the Scottish parliament," Salmond said in a video address.

Salmond resigned from the SNP in 2018 as he fought to deny allegations of sexual assault. The Scottish parliamentary elections are set to be held on May 6.