With polling stations across the country now open, ScotlandVotes has compiled a list of key seats that will  determine who will be Scotland’s next First Minister.

The ScotlandVotes website provides a list of the 15 battleground seats, including statistics, candidate profiles and target seats for each party on the website.

In addition to the seats that are statistically classed as battleground – ie most vulnerable to change – given the current polling results you should also watch out for a number of highly-contested constituency seats in what promises to be an action-packed election night across the country.  Here is our run down of the seats worth staying up for.

Aberdeen South and Kincardine North

Former Scottish Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen’s decision to step down – as well as sizeable boundary changes – means this seat will be one to watch tonight.

The Lib Dems are desperate to retain Nicol Stephen’s seat, with his would-be successor, John Sleigh, defending a notional majority of 2000.

Mr Sleigh’s main contender is the SNP’s former Minister for Schools and Skills, Maureen Watt, who has served as North East list MSP since April 2006. The Tories’ Stewart Whyte – a history teacher – and Labour’s Greg Williams – an Oxford graduate working in the oil industry – are expected to battle it out for third place.

Argyll and Bute

With the ever popular incumbent Jim Mather stepping down, Argyll and Bute was always going to be a key seat in the fight for Holyrood. However, the SNP’s decision to field one of its heavyweights has further spiced up this particular contest.

With a majority of only 800, the SNP’s Education Secretary Michael Russell will be contesting the seat against the Lib Dems’ Alison Hay – former leader of Argyll and Bute Council – and Jamie McGrigor – Highland and Islands list MSP since 1999.

Labour candidate Mick Rice will be eager to build on the increased vote Labour secured in Argyll and Bute during last year’s UK Parliament election.

Caithness, Sutherland and Ross

Yet another key seat where the incumbent – Lib Dem Jamie Stone on this occasion – is retiring.

Lib Dems’ candidate, Robbie Rowantree, a local Highland Councillor and former Tory candidate, will be hoping to secure the party’s previous 2000+ majority in Scotland’s most northerly mainland seat.

Challenging the Lib Dems’ majority is Rob Gibson, who has served as Highlands and Islands list MSP since 2003 and who came second in 2007. A strong local campaigner and previous Ross and Cromarty councillor, Mr Gibson will be hoping to spring one of the election upsets.

Dumfriesshire

Boundary changes have blown this seat wide open as Labour’s Elaine Murray fights for her political future against the Conservatives, who now hold a notional majority of around 600.

Ms Murray has served the area ever since the Scottish Parliament was established, having previously gained a PhD in Chemistry and worked as a lecturer at the Open University.

The Tories’ candidate, Gillian Dykes, is currently a councillor for Mid and Upper Nithsdale and worked as a senior caseworker / researcher for the former presiding officer Alex Fergusson.

Edinburgh Central

Currently a Labour-held constituency, Edinburgh Central is described as being situated at “the heart of devolved Scotland”. The seat contains the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister’s official residence and the Scottish Government’s headquarters.

The incumbent, former Transport Minister Sarah Boyack, has held the constituency for the last 12 years and is defending a notional majority of 700.

However, Ms Boyack is fighting for this crucial seat against the Lib Dems’ energetic candidate Alex Cole-Hamilton. In a video blog for ScotlandVotes in February of this year, Lib Dem blogger Caron Lindsay claimed that Mr Cole-Hamilton has “built a lively, grassroots campaign where he has knocked on 10,000 doors since last summer”.

The SNP’s Marco Biagi and the Conservatives’ Iain McGill are also fighting for votes in this constituency.

Glasgow Kelvin

It could be fourth time lucky for Sandra White as she aims to wrestle Glasgow Kelvin from Labour’s Pauline McNeill.

A constituency which covers Glasgow’s three universities and the city centre is being touted as a potential shock gain for the SNP. In 2007, Pauline McNeill won the seat with a majority of 1207 ahead of Ms White, with the Greens’ Martin Bartos coming third with nearly 3,000 votes.

This year, with no Green candidate and significant boundary changes, the fight for Glasgow Kelvin will be another nail biting contest on election night.

Glasgow Southside

The battle for Glasgow Southside started twelve months ago, and the campaign has been in full swing ever since.

With significant boundary changes giving Labour a notional majority of 27, Glasgow Southside is on a knife-edge between Labour and the SNP.

Rumours suggest that canvass returns are indicating a victory for SNP’s Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon. Her opponent, Cllr Stephen Curran, a high-profile Glasgow City Councillor, will be confident for staging an upset. However, neither candidate will be complacent – especially with so much still to play for on polling day.

Elsewhere, Lib Dems’ candidate, Cllr Ken Elder, and Tories’ Cllr David Meikle, are left vying for third place.

Midlothian South, Tweedale, and Lauderdale

Another sizeable boundary change has turned a previously Lib Dem seat into a constituency where the SNP has a notional majority of a whopping 1200.

The SNP will be optimistic – especially as the Nationalists are fielding a strong candidate in Christine Grahame, who has served as a high-profile South of Scotland list MSP since 1999.

Jeremy Purvis, the Lib Dems’ Finance and Economy spokesperson, is challenging Ms Grahame in what may well be a photo-finish as the two horse race hits the home straight.

The Labour and the Conservative candidates are expected to be fighting for third place.

Stirling

The SNP incumbent, Bruce Crawford, and Labour’s John Henry are gearing up for another historic battle in Stirling.

With boundary changes handing the advantage to Labour, Mr Crawford is facing a tough fight to regain the seat that he dramatically won in 2007.

His main contender, John Hendry, has served as a local Labour councillor for over 30 years, and was Stirling’s provost between 1988 and 1992.

Meanwhile, the Tories are fielding Neil Benny, the youngest councillor in Stirling Council, while local activist Graham Reed will be battling it out for the Lib Dems.