Britons take part in European Parliament elections

London, May 23 (IANS) Voters in Britain were heading to the polling stations on Thursday for the European Parliament elections, as the political deadlock over the UK's withdrawal from the bloc continues.

Britain is split into 12 regions for the elections, including 9 in England and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A total of 73 members, known as members of the European Parliament (MEPs), will be elected in the constituencies, the BBC reported. Polling stations in Britain will be open till 10 p.m. BST.

The Netherlands was also voting on Thursday while voting in other EU nations will take place at various times over the next three days.

The results will be announced once all EU nations have voted, with the voting process expected to be completed by 10 p.m. BST on Sunday.

Initially, the elections were not planned as Britain prepared to leave the EU on March 29. However, at the European summit in April, the British government and the European Council agreed to delay Brexit until October 31.

It is uncertain for how long British MEPs will sit because of the uncertainties over Brexit.

The elections are the 9th time Britain has elected MEPs to the European Parliament. British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives in the European Parliament have 18 seats, the same as Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, followed by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party with 14 seats, which earlier belonged to the UK Independence Party.

The rest of the seats are held by other parties, including two of Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party and one of Vince Cable's Liberal Democrats.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)