An army of people are preparing for what is set to be a gripping election day on Thursday.

This year the local and general elections coincide and because the national vote is on a five year fixed term, this will not happen again until 2035.

It has meant a massive amount of preparation for Medway Council. At a secret location, 532 ballot boxes and just under 235,000 ballot papers are waiting.

As well as choosing a parliamentary candidate for each constituency people will be able to choose their ward councillors for the forthcoming term, and those in parish council areas will also be selecting those.

There will be 130 polling station spread out over the Towns, manned by 489 members of staff.

“It is a huge logistical exercise but it is a unique time and one which we all relish.” - Neil Davies

Acting returning officer and council’s chief executive Neil Davies said: “Organising an election on this scale takes enormous dedication and hard work from our staff and started many months before the election date was even formally declared.

“There is an army of people involved, not all of whom are Medway Council employees. Then, on May 7 and 8 we will have a further 156 people counting the votes, not to mention the many others behind the scenes.”

The latest Office for National Statistics data shows the population of Medway as 271,105 in 2013.

Of those, roughly 80% are registered to vote, at 220,000. Yet in the 2010 general election only 58% turned out to have their say in Rochester and Strood, and 59% in Chatham. Gillingham and Rainham had the highest turnout, but it was still only 66%.

Mr Davies added: “It is a huge logistical exercise but it is a unique time and one which we all relish.”

The count at Medway Park will go on though the night for the national election, with a declaration expected early on Friday

The local results will be counted throughout the day on the Friday, and a result expected late in the evening.