On July 4, the United Kingdom will hold national elections, which, according to polls, are expected to end 14 years of government led by the Conservative Party.
Great Britain is divided into 650 constituencies. In each of them, voters choose a local candidate, who will then take a seat in Parliament.
Voters choose a candidate on their ballot and the candidate with the most votes wins.
Candidates are usually part of a larger political party.
To secure a majority in Parliament, a party must win at least 326 seats. The leader of the party that reaches this number becomes the Prime Minister and forms the Government.
If no single party wins a majority, the incumbent prime minister remains in power and is given the first opportunity to form a government by building a coalition or governing as a minority.
Who can vote and how?
Voters must be at least 18 years of age on polling day and be British citizens, Irish citizens or eligible Commonwealth citizens.
About 50 million people are registered to vote. Polling stations will be open from 7 am to 10 pm local time. Voting can be done by going to polling stations, by mail or through a proxy.
Voters must have a photo ID with them to vote. This is the first national election in which such a thing is required, although it was set as a rule for local elections in 2023.
British citizens living abroad will also be able to vote regardless of how long they have lived abroad. Three million such British citizens can vote, according to the British Electoral Commission.
When will the results be announced?
A poll will be released by broadcasters shortly after polls close.
Electoral units start counting votes as soon as the polling stations close and the first results come in a few hours. Most winners are declared overnight, although in some rural areas it takes longer, especially if the result is close and a recount is required.
Although no declaration of any overall winner is given, the result is usually clear sometime between 5 and 7 am.
When will the new prime minister be decided?
As soon as the overall result is clear, if the current Government has lost, the Prime Minister will formally submit his resignation to the King. This is expected to happen on July 5.
The leader of the winning party will then meet with the king, who will ask him or her to form a government.
Afterwards, the incoming Prime Minister usually goes to Downing Street to give a speech to the public.
What happens next?
Over the next few days, the new leader will begin appointing government ministers, starting with senior positions and moving to roles with less responsibility.
Parliament will resume work on July 9. The Speaker of the Lower House of the Parliament will be elected from among the deputies of the Parliament.
Each MP will then take an oath of allegiance to the king or make a solemn affirmation (declaration that he will tell the truth). This procedure usually takes several days.
The State Opening of Parliament and the King’s Speech, which sets out the Government’s program of legislation for the parliamentary session, will take place on 17 July, although this date may be changed by the next Government.
Polls show that the opposition Labor Party is better than the conservatives of the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.
The YouGov poll predicted Labor could win 425 seats, while the Conservatives 108.
This result would mark the lowest number of seats won by the Conservative Party in its nearly 200-year history.
In the 2019 election, the Conservatives won 365 seats and Labor 202. Since then, resignations, expulsions and several other events have reduced the Conservatives’ majority. Now that the 2024 elections are approaching, the Conservatives have 344 seats and Labor 205, reports rel.
