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 Elections are a democratic process where you can vote for and elect political candidates to represent your views locally, nationally and internationally.  You must be included on the electoral register to be able to vote in an election.

The Elections Team is responsible for running the following elections held in Knowsley:

• Local Council elections
• UK Parliamentary elections
• European Parliamentary elections
• Parish elections

 Local elections
Local Government elections are usually held on the first Thursday in May. The next date scheduled in Knowsley is 6 May 2010.

Knowsley is divided into 21 electoral wards and all wards have three councillors representing them.  Each councillor serves four years and come up for election on a rota basis.  This is because local elections are held in  three out of every four years, with one third of the 63 councillors retiring at each election.

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 Parliamentary (general) elections

A Parliamentary election has to be called by Government and must take place within five years of the date the last general election was held. The next general election is scheduled to take place no later than May 2010.

One MP (Member of Parliament) is elected for each Parliamentary constituency by way of majority. Each MP then serves in the House of Commons, representing their constituency.

The current constituencies covering Knowsley are:

• Knowsley North and Sefton East constituency, which covers the Kirkby wards plus parts of Prescot West, Stockbridge and Longview wards in addition to parts of Sefton. 
• Knowsley South, which covers the remaining parts of the Borough of Knowsley.

Knowsley's constituencies will change at the next general election:

• Halewood North, South and West wards will become part of the Garston and Halewood constituency and this election will be administered by Liverpool City Council's electoral services section.
• Whiston North and South and Prescot East wards will become part of the St Helens South and Whiston constituency and this election will be administered by St Helens Borough Council's electoral services section.

The remaining wards will constitute the Knowsley constituency and this election will be administered as usual by Knowsley's elections office.

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 European Parliamentary elections

European Parliamentary elections are held every five years with the next election due to take place in June 2009.  Knowsley is part of the North West of England constituency, which has nine Members of European Parliamentary (MEPs).

At a European election, electors vote for a political party instead of an individual. The number of seats that a party gets depends on the share of the vote that it receives in each region.

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 Parish elections
Knowsley has six parish councils, all with different wards and councillors within their area.  Elections are held every four years with the next scheduled elections taking place in May 2011.  Visit the parish council section for more information and contact details. 

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