UK at the polls: Members of the House of Commons are being determined

The public in the UK is at the polls to determine the new leadership that will govern the country for the next 5 years.

In a country with approximately 50 million voters, the public began casting their votes at polling stations that opened at 07:00 local time (09:00 Turkish time) to determine the members of the House of Commons, the elected chamber of Parliament.

Voting will end at 22:00 (00:00 Turkish time) in the election where a total of 4,515 candidates are competing to enter the 650-seat House of Commons.

While results are expected to arrive one by one from constituencies starting from that hour, the general picture in the parliament is estimated to become clear in the early hours of July 5.

Polls conducted by research firms show that the main opposition Labour Party is set to win by a wide margin, while the ruling Conservative Party is expected to suffer a defeat.

While it is estimated that the number of seats held by the Conservative Party, which won 365 seats in the previous election, will drop to the 100s, polls indicate that the Labour Party will win over 400 seats.

Polls show that in addition to the far-right Reform UK Party, the Liberal Democrat Party, the Scottish National Party, and the Green Party will be represented in the House of Commons with more than one seat, and that parties representing Northern Ireland and Wales may also have a place in parliament.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated in his announcement on May 22 that the date for the early election, which was planned to be held in the second half of this year, would be July 4.

Sunak had said, "This is the time for Britain to choose its future. It is time to decide whether we want to build on the progress we have made or return to square one without a plan and without certainty. Earlier today, I spoke with the King to request the dissolution of Parliament. The King has granted this request and we will have a general election on July 4."

Stating, "We are losing a lot in Gaza, what is happening is a great disgrace. (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is throwing dust in people's eyes," Brik referred to the insistence on continuing the attacks, saying, "The army knows that it is impossible to defeat Hamas and soldiers are being killed."

Brik also expressed that Israeli Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi wants to remain in office until his term expires and is lying.

The US-based New York Times (NYT) newspaper had written that 6 senior Israeli generals, both retired and active, who wished to remain anonymous, wanted to end the war in Gaza even if it did not ensure "the military destruction of Hamas at this stage."

While it was alleged that the Israeli generals wanted to end the war in the Gaza Strip and fully supported a ceasefire and mutual hostage exchange agreement with Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the army had announced that they would continue the attacks "until the goals of militarily ending Hamas and bringing back all Israeli hostages in Gaza are achieved."

In an interview with a television channel on June 19, Israeli Army Spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated that "it is not possible to destroy Hamas militarily, as Hamas is an idea," and expressed that "setting such a goal is misleading the public."

Following the reactions to Hagari's words, especially from Prime Minister Netanyahu and other far-right leaders in the government, the Israeli army was forced to issue a statement saying they were "committed to the goals of the war."

PRIME MINISTER SUNAK'S PHOTO WAS CRITICIZED

The photo of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak taken while waiting for an interview on ITV in the morning was described as a PR disaster.

Before him on the program was "Britain's most tattooed mom." This scene tarnished the Prime Minister's charisma and became a subject of ridicule.

Sunak, who has faced criticism at every opportunity for failing to carry the weight of the office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, is predicted to lose the election with this trend.

News Source: 12punto