Polling stations open for Greater Manchester mayoral election
PA MediaPolling stations across Greater Manchester have opened in a mayoral election that was triggered when Andy Burnham resigned as the city region's mayor.
MPs are not permitted to be mayor, meaning Burnham had to stand down after his success in last month's Makerfield parliamentary by-election. His election as an MP paved the way for him becoming prime minister earlier this month.
Voters are now choosing which candidate they would like to represent them as mayor of Greater Manchester and leader of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
Polling stations opened at 07:00 BST and will close at 22:00. The results are due to be announced on Friday.
Who are the candidates?
Here is a list - in alphabetical order, by surname - of the seven candidates who are standing in the mayoral election:
- Sian Astley, Reform UK
- Geraldine Coggins, Green Party
- Bev Craig, Labour
- Phil Eckersley, Conservative
- Marcus Farmer, Independent
- Richard Kilpatrick, Liberal Democrats
- Marlon West, Restore Britain
How do you vote?
Voting on the day of the election takes place at polling stations across Greater Manchester.
Residents who are registered and entitled to vote in the election will have been sent a polling card before the election, which states the address of their nearest polling station and other important information. The address can also be found by searching on the local council's website.
Voters do not need to take their cards to the polling station but it may speed up the process if they do.
On arrival, they will be asked for their name, address and their voter ID - a list of accepted voter IDs, such as a passport or driving licence, can be found here.
The staff will check registration and if the voter ID is acceptable and then issue a ballot paper.
Ballot papers can legally only be printed in English.
What is the voting system?
The election will be decided using the supplementary vote system - meaning voters can choose to select both a first- and second-choice candidate.
Voters do not have to make a second choice, but, as the official GM Elects website explains, if a voter only marks a second choice and does not choose a first choice, their vote will not be counted.
If nobody wins more than 50% of the initial vote, all but the two highest-polling candidates are knocked out of the race.
The second choices of those who voted for the other candidates are then reallocated.
Whichever of the top two candidates ends up with the most votes after this "run-off" round is then declared the winner.
What happens when polls close?
The polls close across Greater Manchester at 22:00.
All votes will be counted on Friday, with the first count beginning at about 10:00.
Each of the ten Greater Manchester districts has a returning officer, who has personal responsibility for verifying and counting the votes in their area.
The GMCA returning officer is responsible for co-ordinating the poll across Greater Manchester and will calculate the overall result by adding the ten individual council's results together before declaring the successful candidate.
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