London mayor election results 'delays' as Sadiq Khan and Susan Hall set for waiting game - why it takes so long to count votes

The race between Sadiq Khan, Susan Hall, Count Binface and the other candiates for London mayor is well underway - but why is it taking so long for the votes to be counted? Londoners flocked to their polling stations on Thursday (May 2) despite voter turnout being lower than 2021, with just 40.5 per cent of eligible voters using their vote, according to London Elects.

Though votes are currently being counted today (Saturday May 4) and the initial results timing for London mayor is expected at 1.30pm, delays could mean that the announcement might not be made until tomorrow (Sunday May 5). MyLondon understands, according to a handbook our reporter has received: "The declaration of the results will be made in London City Hall on the evening of Saturday, May 4 or into the morning of Sunday 5 May, depending on how the count progresses."

In their updates to the voting process, London Elects, has shared that there have been almost 2.5million votes made in the London mayor elections, which each have to be counted by hand. It's made even more complicated when it is such a close race and each borough's votes must be thoroughly counted to ensure the result is accurate.

READ MORE: Latest mayor election results map as 4 mayors already announced

The Electoral Commision has previously said: "Counting takes place as soon as is practicable once a poll has closed. Counting can either take place overnight after the poll has closed, on the following day, or sometimes during the following week. This depends on the type of election, and specific local circumstances and decisions that Returning Officers have taken during their planning for the election.

"If the count is taking place overnight then immediately after the polls close, polling station staff take the sealed ballot boxes from their polling station to their count centre, along with the completed paperwork which records how many ballot papers have been issued to voters at the polling station.

"If the count is not taking place overnight, then the sealed ballot boxes will be taken to a secure location and stored until they can be delivered to the count centre for the beginning of the count."

You can see the voter turnout by borough below, from London Elects, which shows that most boroughs had a similar turnout percentage but City and East were the lowest with 31.17 per cent and Bexley and Bromley had the highest turnout with just shy of 50 per cent.

It's not yet clear when the results of the election will be announced but it could be anywhere between 1.30pm and tomorrow morning, meaning a potentially long wait for Susan Hall and Sadiq Khan after the tight 'two-horse race' will finally come to an end.

So far, four mayoral election results have already been announced. East Midlands, North East and York and North Yorkshire have been held by Labour. While Tees Valley have voted in a Conservative mayor.

MyLondon understands that Labour believes that tomorrow's result is going to be 'very close'. Mr Khan's team is also concerned about the less than 5 percentage point gap between Mr Khan and the then-Tory candidate, Shaun Bailey, in 2021.

In addition, the party's thinking is that voter ID regulations - which mean voters had to bring an acceptable form of documentation with them to polling stations or be turned away - makes it 'easier for Tories to win'. It is also understood that the mayor's team believes encouraging polling - which put Mr Khan between 10 and more than 20 percentage points ahead of his Conservative rival - were 'way out'.

The Greater London Returning Officer (GLRO) is expected to announce the result of the mayoral election at City Hall today (Saturday, May 4) once all votes have been counted at the 14 constituencies. Later, the GLRO will announce the allocation of the 11 London-wide Assembly Member seats.

Read our exclusive sit-down interview with Sadiq Khan ahead of the London mayoral election results here. Read our full chat with Susan Hall here.

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