Scots began the historic voting. The results will be ready by breakfast time on Friday

Today Scottish population began voting on in a referendum on whether the country should become independent or stay part of the United Kingdom.

Four opinion polls on the eve of the vote showed support for independence at 48 percent compared with 52 percent for the union but a fifth showed it even closer on 49 to 51 percent. The surveys also showed as many as 600,000 voters out of 4.3 million remained undecided with just hours to go before the polling stations opened.

On Wednesday, the “Yes” and “No” camps mobilised thousands of volunteers to hand out leaflets and hold rallies across Scotland in a final push to win over high numbers of undecided voters.

In a letter to the people of Scotland, pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond urged the electorate to seize its historic chance to end the 307-year-old union with England.

“Wake up on Friday morning to the first day of a better country. Wake up knowing you did this – you made it happen,” he wrote. “It’s about taking your country’s future into your hands. Don’t let this opportunity slip through our fingers. Don’t let them tell us we can’t. Let’s do this.”

But Alistair Darling, a former British finance minister who heads the “No” campaign, said there would be “faster, better change” for Scotland within the United Kingdom.

Britain’s three main political parties have promised increased powers for the Scottish government in the event of a “No” vote.

“We have all built the UK together and we have benefited from that strength,” Darling told BBC radio.

Electoral officials said the result of the vote is expected by breakfast time on Friday morning.