THE chief counting officer has said the independence referendum count was "properly conducted" following claims of vote-rigging.

Nearly 90,000 people have signed an online petition demanding "a re-vote counted by impartial international parties" after videos and pictures appeared online leading to conspiracy theories.

One video shows a woman sitting at a desk sorting ballot papers while a picture shows what is said to be a Yes ballot paper on a No pile.

In a statement, the chief counting officer Mary Pitcaithly said all counts "were properly conducted and scrutinised".

In the statement, a spokesman responded: "The chief counting officer is satisfied all counts throughout Scotland were properly conducted and scrutinised by thousands of people representing both the Yes Scotland and the Better Together campaigns, as well as international election observers, media and police."