Britiain's Prime Minister David Cameron, gives a speech
IN PHOTO: Britiain's Prime Minister David Cameron, gives a speech during an election campaign visit to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in London, England, on April 27, 2015. Reuters/Adrian Dennis

As Britain holds its general election on May 7, exit polls suggest Conservatives are leading the race. British Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party is predicted to win by exit polls but no outright winner is yet to be seen.

Exit polls suggest that the Conservative party is expected to win 316 seats, which is higher than what the pre-election surveys indicated. However, the outcome will still be 10 seats short of the required 326 seats to win an outright majority. The party also needs at least seven seats more to gain the minimum necessary to have a daily working majority, reports New York Times.

The Liberal Democrats were predicted to win 10 seats, which is 47 seats less from 2010, but the number of seats should be enough to put both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives on the edge of forming the next government. Historically, elections with polls suggesting a tight race had considerable uncertainty about what the actual results would show. The current exit poll conducted for BBC, Sky News and ITV show different outcomes compared to several opinion polls taken before voting.

If the poll results would hold true, the Labor party led by Ed Miliband, would face a difficult road to power. The Scottish National party is expected to be the third biggest force following a historic defeat of Labor in its stronghold in Scotland.

The Washington Post said British exit polls have proven to be accurate in past elections. However, pollsters believe the outcome may be difficult to project given the role of smaller parties since, when put together, make up a third of all votes.

The official results of the election are expected to be complete in the morning of May 8. Whether it will be Milibrand or Mr Cameron taking the leadership, Britain will see big constitutional changes and face international challenges. The result of the election will also have significant implications for the role of Britain in Europe and in other regions.

Mr Cameron is committed to renegotiate Britain’s membership terms in the EU if he will still get elected as prime minister. He also plans to hold a referendum on whether to remain in the EU by the end of 2017.

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