CRI听力:Tories and Labor Neck and Neck as UK Votes in Decisive Election

Voting has begun in the UK, with millions lining up to elect a new parliament and a prime minister.

The contest is seen as one of the closest election races in Britain in a generation.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara reports.

Tories and Labor Neck and Neck as UK Votes in Decisive Election

Voting in the UK kicked off at 07:00 AM local time, at around 50,000 polling stations across the country.

There are about 50 million people registered to vote.

British Labor Party leader Ed Miliband cast his ballot in Doncaster. Conservative leader David Cameron voted in Witney.

The latest Opinions polls that came out the day before the vote suggest the both men are running neck-and-neck and that neither party can win enough seats for an outright majority in the 650-seat parliament.

Labour's Miliband, in his final campaign speech a day earlier, promised to raise income tax for the top 1 per cent, while protecting the interests of working families.

"We're fighting for a Britain where we reward the hard work of every working person not just those who get the six figure bonuses in our country. We're fighting for a Britain where every young person whatever their background, wherever they're from has a chance to live a better life than their parents. We're fighting for a Britain where everyone plays by the same rules. And yes where we take on the tax evaders the hedge funds that avoid their taxes and the Tory donors and say enough is enough."

The stakes are high in this election because Britain's future in the European Union, as well as its national cohesion, could hinge on the result.

The Conservative's Cameron has promised to hold a referendum on whether to stay in the EU if he returns to power.

"This is the election that will define this generation. Do we build on the work that's been done these last five years or do we go back to square one and waste all the sacrifice and all the effort that's been put in. I say let's build on what we've done, don't go back to square one."

Exit polls also suggest that the Scottish nationalists could emerge as the third-largest party, despite losing a plebiscite last year on whether Scotland should break away from the United Kingdom.

It is feared that a possible coalition that includes the Scottish nationalists may open the door for another "independence ballot" in Scotland.

Along with the general vote, more than 9,000 council seats are being contested across 279 local authorities.

For the first time, people have been allowed to register to vote online mainly due to concerns about a low voter turnout. The overall turnout at the 2010 general election was just 65 percent.

Community groups have also been active in trying to get people to exercise their vote.

Christine Lee, the founder of "British Chinese Project" has been campaigning to get more British Chinese voters to participate in this year's election.

"For us Chinese communities, we mainly care about how we will financially benefit from the elected. But if we give up our votes, we will probably lose ground in a competition with Indian British and African British for more financial support from the new government."

11 candidates of Chinese origin are running for seats in the House of Commons, a record high in British election history.

A handful of seats are expected to be declared by midnight, with the final results expected on Friday afternoon.

For CRI I'm Poornima Weerasekara.