A third of the Maltese electorate goes to the polls today, with 8,805 voting documents remaining unclaimed - one of the highest ever figures for a round of local council elections.

The largest number of uncollected votes was in Sliema (1,648) followed by Birkirkara (1,062), though the highest percentage of unclaimed votes (15.7 per cent) pertained to Marsascala.

A total of 282 candidates will be vying for a seat on 23 local councils - 139 candidates on the Nationalist Party ticket, 125 for the Malta Labour Party, five for Alternattiva Demokratika and 13 candidates running either as independents or on behalf of an organisation.

Following recent amendments to the Local Councils Act, a total of 21 candidates are contesting a locality in which they do not reside.

Three years ago, when the last elections for the localities being contested tomorrow were held, 4,700 individuals had failed to collect their voting document. Those elections, however, were overshadowed by the EU referendum, held on the same day. In 2003, the PN obtained 48.9 per cent of the vote, the MLP 46.9 per cent and AD three per cent.

The political parties brought their electoral campaigns to a close on Thursday night and yesterday observed a "day of reflection" in accordance with the law.

Voting will take place today between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the following localities: Birkirkara, San Gwann, Sliema, Zabbar, Fgura, Naxxar, Rabat, Cospicua, Victoria, Marsascala, Msida, Tarxien, Mdina, Gudja, Gharb, Ghaxaq, Kalkara, Lija, Mgarr, Pietà, Sannat, Xghajra and Mtarfa.

Vote counting will take place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, and at the Victoria Sports Complex.

While the vote count in some of the small councils may be known by this evening, in the case of the bigger localities it is expected to take somewhat longer. The political parties may hold their own exit polls and should have an indication of the result by late this evening.

The Times' website www.timesofmalta.com will keep readers updated with all the election-related information.

The Department of Information will publish the official results on its website.

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