After polling stations officially closed their doors at 10pm in London on May 2, ballot counting will be fully underway.

The vote to decide the next Mayor of London and assembly members to represent different parts of the capital saw millions head to their local polling stations.

Across the capital, more than 3,600 polling stations welcomed voters with 12,000 staff and 14 counting centres in the region working overnight.

Whilst staff have been working hard to count votes, due to the large number of voters in London, results are expected later than fellow local elections across the UK.

When will the winner of the London Mayoral election be announced?

As verification of the votes did not start until Friday, May 3 at 9am in London, results are not expected until Saturday, May 4. 

Your Local Guardian: Current Mayor Sadiq Khan (left) and Conservative Mayoral candidate Susan Hall (Right)Current Mayor Sadiq Khan (left) and Conservative Mayoral candidate Susan Hall (Right) (Image: PA)

Counting of the votes will formally start at 9am on Saturday when the three ballot papers will be counted.

The ballots for the mayoral election will be counted first, followed by the constituency London Assembly members and last the results of the London-wide Assembly members.

Although not yet confirmed, it's understood that the first results will be announced as early as 1.30pm on Saturday.

However, the official announcement of the next Mayor of London will be confirmed in the late afternoon/early evening at City Hall.

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But, if there are delays, the announcement may not be made until Sunday, May 5 at City Hall.

The 2024 London elections saw a new voting system in place, with the first past the post (FPTP), in line with general elections.

This sees voters make just one choice, rather than two under the previous supplementary method.