PATRICK Harvie has endorsed Zara Kitson in the race to be Scottish Green’s co-convenor.

The Green MSP announced his backing for Kitson in a minute-long video on Twitter.

“Over the last few years I’ve met so many people in the Scottish Green Party who have been impressed by Zara Kitson’s energy, creativity and passion for the work that our party does,” he says. “She’s shown how good a candidate she can be and she’ll be a great candidate for Glasgow as well.

“She’s shown her commitment to equality in our party and to hearing the voices of everybody. Our party council needs to make time and space to hear from branches from our representative groups from every voice within the party. That takes the kind of people skills, open-mindedness and creativity that Zara Kitson has shown. So I’m not at all surprised to have seen so many of our prominent activists saying they’ll be voting for Zara as our party co-convenor. I will be and I hope you will too.”

Kitson is challenging the party’s current co-convenor Maggie Chapman for the top job. It is the first major leadership race the party has ever faced.

Harvie’s support for Kitson comes a day after Sian Berry, the Green candidate for Mayor of London endorsed Chapman, calling her a, “visionary leader in Scotland.”