London, Jul 4 (IANS): Voting was underway in the general election in the UK on Thursday at around 40,000 polling stations across the country.

Despite having time till January 25 to hold the elections, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on May 22 announced that the country will go to polls on July 4.

A strong 46.5 million electorate are expected to cast their ballots in 650 constituencies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, CNN reported.

To form a majority government, a party needs to win 326 seats.

Labour Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, Scottish National Party (SNP), and the Green Party are the major parties in the country's political landscape.

According to a pre-poll survey, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is projected to win a historic mandate against UK Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak.

The Labour Party is projected to win 484 seats, Conservatives, which have been in power for past for last 14 years, predicted to win 64 seats while the Democrats are likely to bag secure seats, the pre-poll survey said.