Millions of voters across the United Kingdom are heading to the polls in an election that could extend Prime Minister Theresa May’s term.
Polling stations, numbering over 40,000, opened at 7:00 a.m. local time on Thursday morning.
Roughly 46.9 million voters will choose between Mrs. May, her Labour Party challenger, Jeremy Corbyn, Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon, and Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron. A total of 650 ministers of parliament will also be elected.
The election comes at an unconventional time, as the next election had not been due till May 2020.
But less than a year after the UK voted to exit the European Union (dubbed “Brexit”), Mrs. May called for an early election in an effort to secure more seats in parliament for her Conservative Party ahead of the June 19 Brexit negotiations with the EU. The prime minister had the support of the two-thirds majority in parliament necessary to call for the early election.
While the Brexit issue remains an important factor in the election, it has in recent weeks been overshadowed by security concerns due to terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, which left a total of 30 people dead.
Early polls and projections suggest that Mrs. May and her Conservative Party will emerge victorious.
According to Reuters, an Ipsos MORI poll for the London Evening Standard predicted that the Conservatives would win with 44 percent of the vote as opposed to the Labour Party’s 36 percent.
When the early election was called, pundits predicted that Mrs May would win in a landslide, but Mr. Corbyn and his Labour Party have enjoyed a brief surge in polling points since his last debate, in which Mrs. May was notably absent.
Results are expected to be announced at around 11:00 p.m. local time.
