Better Together leader Alistair Darling leaves following a television interview in Edinburgh Sunday. — AFP GLASGOW, Sept 14 (agencies): The future of Scotland and the United Kingdom looked uncertain Sunday, five days before a historic referendum on independence, as polls showed the rival campaigns running desperately close.
Out of four new polls, three showed those in favor of maintaining the union with a lead of between 2 and 8 percentage points. But an ICM poll conducted over the Internet showed supporters of independence in the lead with 54 percent and unionists on 46 percent.
The final weekend of campaigning before Thursday's vote brought thousands of people on to the streets of the capital Edinburgh and of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. Rival leaders worked across the country to convince undecided voters.
Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond, who has spearheaded the drive for independence, said he was confident the "Yes" campaign would win. The priority after the referendum would be would be to bring Scots together again to work for the country's future good, he said on the BBC.
Campaigners for and against Scottish independence scrambled for votes on Sunday ahead of a historic referendum, as a religious leader prayed for harmony after polls showed Scots were almost evenly split.
The Church of Scotland's moderator John Chalmers called for Scots to "live in harmony with one another" whatever the result and hailed the feverish run-up to Thursday's vote as "a wonderful democratic concerto".
"All of those who will vote 'Yes' and all of those who will vote 'No' need to remember that we belong together in the same Scotland," he told worshippers at St Mary's Episcopal Church in Edinburgh in a sermon broadcast on BBC radio nationwide.
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