What is a general election and who can vote?

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THE NEXT general election isn’t due until 2022 – but Boris Johnson is trying to restore Tory but forcing a December election.

Here’s everything you need to know about how a general election actually works.

General elections must be held every five years by law

What is a general election?

A general election gives UK citizens a chance to select an MP to represent their local area in the House of Commons.

Normally there will be several candidates, each from a different political party, standing to be the Member of Parliament in each constituency.

The vote will also determine who will be elected as the UK Prime Minister.

The last general election was held on June 8, 2017.

Previously elections could be called simply by the Prime Minister going to the Queen at any point within five years of the last one.

But after the Fixed Term Parliament Act was passed in 2011 the five-year gap was enshrined in law.

Under the act every PM now needs two thirds of all MPs – 434 – to agree to go to the country before any election can be held.

The date of the lastGeneral Election was June 8, 2017

Who can vote in a General Election?

To vote in the general election you must be:

  • beregistered to vote
  • be 18 or over on the day of the election (“polling day”)
  • be a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen
  • be resident at an address in the UK (or a British citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years)
  • not be legally excluded from voting