The electoral process faces a new test on Saturday when votes cast at the elections for administrative committees will, for the first time, be counted at the polling stations and not in a central counting hall.

The elections will be held in seven hamlets Kappara, Paceville, Madliena, Fleur-de-Lys, Bubaqra, Marsalforn and Xlendi.

Elections in another six hamlets will be held later this year.

A total of 53 candidates have been nominated for Saturday’s elections, with five seats up for grabs in each hamlet.

Some 8,200 residents are eligible to vote.

The committees will be responsible for the running of the hamlets, much like local councils are responsible for the running of larger localities.

There will be one polling station in each locality, with voting between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Vote-counting will start immediately the polls close.

To date, no vote-counting has ever taken place in polling stations, with ballot boxes being transferred to central locations.

In another first, voting documents have also not been issued for Saturday's elections, and residents will be required to use their ID cards.