Britons head to the polls

Britain is going to the polls on Thursday to vote on a snap general election called by Prime Minister Theresa May.

TRT World's Sarah Morice has more from London.

Polling stations, many located in schools and community centres, opened at 7:00am (0600 GMT) and will close at 10:00pm (2100 GMT), with 46.9 million registered voters electing a total of 650 MPs to parliament.

Pollsters will decide between the Conservative and Labour party but the smaller pro-European Liberal Democrats and the pro-Brexit UK Independence Party (UKIP) are also running for seats.

A parliament is elected for a maximum of five years, meaning the next general election must be held by June 2022 at the latest.

An exit poll will give an indication of the outcome, although final results will not emerge until early Friday.

Voting

There are around 47 million registered voters.

British, Irish and Commonwealth residents aged 18 and over can vote, plus British citizens living abroad who have been registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years.

Citizens must register to vote and voting is not compulsory.