London July 4 2024: Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on 22nd May when he called the election, which could have taken place as late as January 2025.
After 14 years in power under five different prime ministers, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives are fighting the main opposition party, the left-of-centre Labour Party led by Keir Starmer.
Polls opened at 07.00 and will close at 22.00 local time on Thursday night. Even before in-person voting began, hundreds of thousands of people had cast their ballot by postal vote, according to an Associated Press report.
An exit poll commissioned by the main U.K. broadcasters will be published as soon as the polls close, giving an indication of the likely result.
Counting will begin immediately but most of the results will only be announced in the early hours of Friday.
All voters in the U.K. were required to bring identification with them Thursday for the first time in a general election.
A change in the law has required voters in England, Scotland and Wales to prove their identity since 2023 by showing a passport, drivers’ licence and more than a dozen other acceptable forms of ID.
Voters in Northern Ireland have had to show identification since 1985, and photo ID since 2003.
