Wales ready for council elections

Voters will elect 1264 councillors across 882 wards on 22 councils

Thousands of candidates will stand for more than 1,200 council seats when Wales goes to the polls in local elections on Thursday.

The outcome will help to decide how services such as education, transport and refuse collection are delivered by 22 Welsh councils for four years.

The newly-elected authorities will also take decisions on such policies as housing, council tax levels, planning, roads and social services.

Voters can either cast their ballot at polling stations, by post or by proxy for those who want someone to vote on their behalf.

Polling stations will be open between 7am and 10pm on Thursday.

People applying for a postal vote for the first time had to get their application to their local council by16 April.

Those wanting to vote by proxy for the first time had to apply by 23 April, although exceptions are made for medical emergencies.

Some councils will be counting on the night of the vote, but others will leave it until the following day.

That means that results will begin filtering through in the early hours of the morning on Friday, and continue to be declared throughout the day.

If a council ends up with no one party or group of councillors with an overall majority it could take days or even weeks of negotiations before it becomes clear who will be in charge.

More details on the 2008 local elections in Wales and who the candidates are in each area are available from council websites, which are listed in the dropdown menu alongside.