Politicians on both sides of the debate have praised the referendum for engaging the population in politics.
Aberdeenshire residents turned out in force to vote for the future of their country with a turnout of 87.2% and 180,045 votes cast.
Better together campaigners Jim Gifford and the Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Bruce said that it was exciting to see the people of Scotland take their future into their hands.
And despite the announcement of the first three counts MSP Christian Allard said it was still “all to play for”.
He said: “It is still early days. We never expected a win in Orkney. And it has to be remembered it is overall votes that count. It is still all to play for.”
It is predicted the Aberdeenshire count will be announced at around 5am – two hours later than originally anticipated.
