THOUSANDS of people across Hampshire are going to the polls today to vote in local council and Euro elections.

In what has been dubbed "Super Thursday" residents across the region will be able to choose the future shape of their councils as well as electing ten MEPs who will represent the south in the European Parliament.

At local level, contests will be staged at Southampton City Council, Eastleigh Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council and Winchester City Council.

Meanwhile, residents in the giant south east region which stretches from Kent in the east to Hampshire in the west and Milton Keynes in the north to the Isle of Wight in the south will be choosing their members of the European Parliament.

Counting the votes will take place on either Thursday night or Friday morning in the local council elections.

But the count will take place this Sunday in the European poll to bring Britain into line with its European neighbours.

In both Winchester and Southampton City Council's poll, counting will take place on Friday morning.

But Eastleigh and Fareham councils will be counting their votes on the more traditional Thursday night.

Polls for both the European and local council elections open at 7am and continue until 10pm today.

In the Euro elections, voters will be electing their MEPs using a "list" proportional representation system.

Electors will be asked to choose from a list of parties rather than individual candidates with the seats then shared out on a proportional basis.

Counting for these elections will take place across the region with results being declared in Oxfordshire.

In the council elections, votes will be counted under the "first past the post" system with the candidate with the greatest number of votes winning the seat.

l The Daily Echo would like to point out that in Tuesday's election round-up story for Southampton the Liberal Democrats have a five-year £18m roads programme and not a ten-year programme as reported.

We also inadvertently left out the Woolston ward in the Southampton elections.

Candidates fighting that seat are Clifford Combes, Conservative, Susan Robson, Liberal Democrats and Richard Williams, Labour.

In yesterday's Euro election round-up we said Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan was a Liberal Democrat.