In London, some 5.2 million people are today eligible to vote for the Capital's mayor and members of its elected assembly.

The Greater London Authority covers the whole of London and is made up of a directly elected mayor, an elected assembly and a team of appointed staff.

On June 10, in addition to their single vote for an MEP, Londoners will have four votes in the GLA elections.

• A first choice for mayor of London.
  
  
• A optional second choice for mayor of London.
  
  
• One vote for a constituency member of the London assembly.
  
  
• One vote for an independent candidate or a party to put forward London-wide members of the assembly, allocated on a proportional regional list system.

Counting for the London election takes place on Friday - with the result expected by mid-afternoon.

Mayoral election

The mayor will be elected using a supplementary vote system

This means that if no candidate receives half of the first choice votes, all the other candidates except the top two are eliminated.

The second preference votes of those who voted for the eliminated candidates are added up and distributed. The candidate with the most first and second preference votes wins.

Assembly elections

The London assembly is made up of 11 members who are elected across London and 14 members who are each elected by a constituency comprised of two or three London boroughs.

The members of the London assembly are elected using the additional member system.

This means that the constituency members are elected on a traditional first-past-the-post basis.

And the second London-wide vote is allocated to independent candidates or parties on a pro-rata basis to parties or candidates that gain more than five per cent of the total votes cast.

Labour

As well as its candidates for the London assembly, Labour is pinning its hopes on mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone.

Polls suggest he may be heading for re-election, but the result could be close.

Livingstone has talked up the prospect of a Conservative victory in order to boost turnout.

He believes that a low turnout could deprive him of the second preference votes which will boost his chances of victory.

Livingstone says he is standing on his record - although he admits that the Capital still faces real problems.

"It will take more than four years to solve those problems but, together with the Labour members of the London assembly, we secured a big increase in funding for London and started the policies and investment needed to improve the quality of life for Londoners," says the mayor.

Conservative

Meanwhile, Conservative candidate Steve Norris insists there is still all to play for.

He says the mayor's record on crime will result in a poor showing for Livingstone.

"Everywhere I go in London, people tell me they don’t feel safe on their own streets any more," he says.

"Black or white, rich or poor, young or old, the message is the same. Street crime, vandalism and graffiti are blighting too many lives. That’s why cutting crime is my top priority."

Lib Dems

Charles Kennedy, meanwhile, has spent much of the campaign giving support to Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Simon Hughes.

Despite trailing third in the polls, Hughes says he is the only candidate who can beat Livingstone.

Hughes is pledging to ensure each area has four locally based permanent police and four other officers.

"London should be a place where none of us have our lives damaged by crime or the fear of crime. It should be a city easy to travel around in. It should be cleaner and greener," says Hughes.

He has pledged to pedestrianise Oxford Street and radically reform the congestion charge if elected.

Other candidates

Meanwhile Green candidate Darren Johnson is standing on a ticket to "protect our environment and reduce the gap between rich and poor".

For the UK Independence Party, Frank Maloney has set out his plans based on "putting pride and respect back into our communities".

And Lindsey German is standing for the Respect party, whose best known member is former Labour MP George Galloway.

Click here for a full list of candidates standing in London.