European election closes for UK – but there won’t be an exit poll just yet

The polls for the European elections are now officially closed.

But unlike most elections there will be no immediate exit poll – as other EU members states will be casting their votes up until May 26.

The results there cannot be announced before the last votes on the continent are made.

Only the UK and the Netherlands have started the election process, with Ireland and the Czech Republic hitting the polls on Friday May 24.

Latvia, Malta and Slovakia will all vote on Saturday, leaving the other 21 members states to vote on Sunday.

Results can then be officially declared from 10pm onward, although it is likely they will continue throughout the night.

Already, it is expected both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party will suffer severe losses in the election, with the Liberal Democrats and Brexit Party likely to have turned voters’ heads.

Downing Street conceded on Wednesday that they expected a ‘very challenging night’ when the results come through.

A spokesman for Theresa May said: ‘The PM is focused on the task at hand which is delivering the Brexit people voted for.’

Earlier today scores of EU citizens took to social media to complain that they were being turned away from British polling stations, despite registering to vote.

The hashtag #DeniedMyVote then started trending online, with many sharing their disappointment and anger at being turned away.

The issue was mainly based on the fact that there is a two-step process for EU citizens to vote, in which they are also required to submit a declaration form confirming that they will vote in the UK instead of their country of citizenship.

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The second step also caused problems in the last EU elections in 2014, and the Electoral Commission had pledged to reform it.

They urged councils to tell people about the need for the second form, but they were under no legal obligation to do so.

Most UK votes will be counted this week and will just need to be checked over before being announced on Sunday.

The nation has a total of 73 seats, which go towards the combined total of 751 elected members of the European Parliament.

Unlike the general election, the country is divided into 12 electoral regions, with each one allotted an amount of seats.