First Minister of Scotland elect its members, it is difficult for a single party to gain an overall majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament. The SNP gained an overall majority of seats in the 2011 election, and thus had enough numbers to vote in its leader, Alex Salmond, as First Minister for a second term. After the election of the Scottish Parliament, a First Minister must be nominated within a period of 28 days. Under the terms of the Scotland Act, if the Parliament fails to nominate a First Minister, within this time frame, it will be dissolved and a fresh election held.
First Minister of Scotland that time period expire without the nomination of a new First Minister, then an extraordinary election would have to be called. The First Minister, once appointed continues in office as the head of the devolved Scottish Government until either he or she resigns, is dismissed or dies in office. Resignation can be triggered off by the passage of a Motion of No Confidence in the First Minister or the Scottish Government or by rejecting a Motion of Confidence in the Scottish Parliament. In those situations, the First Minister must tender their resignation and the resignation of their government to the