PREPARATIONS are almost complete at Harrow Leisure Centre ahead of the climax of the 2010 elections.

The Byron Hall venue at the leisure centre, in Christchurch Avenue, will host the count for the General and Harrow Council elections.

Rows of tables for the official counters have been laid out, divided up into areas of the borough, and the counting is due to begin shortly after 10pm this evening.

A stage has been erected on one side of the hall for Mayor of Harrow Eric Silver to announce the winners in the Harrow West and Harrow East elections, expected in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Volunteers who are counting the votes will then return tomorrow morning for the local council election count.

Although empty now but for sound engineers and staff moving tables and chairs, Byron Hall will soon be transformed into a hive of activity and tension.

For the politicians who are expected to attend the count, it marks the culmination of more than a month of intense campaigning and decides whether they will represent Harrow people for another term or reassess their political career.

The Harrow Times will be reporting live throughout the night from the election count, and again tomorrow morning.

You can follow the progress on this website on our live blog, and you can look at the candidates standing for election by clicking here.