RESIDENTS have less than two weeks to register to vote in the local government elections taking place across Wales on Thursday, May 5.

To vote, residents must register before 11.59pm on Thursday, April 14. The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on Tuesday, April 19, and for a proxy vote the deadline is 5pm on Tuesday, April 26.

Anyone aged 16 or over who is a  British, Irish, EU, qualifying Commonwealth or qualifying foreign citizen resident in Wales can register.

This May will be the first time 16 and 17-year-olds have the right to vote in a full council election – some may have already voted in a by-election if one has occurred in their ward in recent months.

Rhydian Thomas, head of the Electoral Commission, urged residents to register so that they can “have a say”.

He added: “It only takes five minutes to register – time that you might otherwise spend waiting for the bath to run or the kettle to boil. So if you want to make sure your voice is heard and you’re not already registered, go online and register now.”

Local elections in both Caerphilly County Borough and Newport receive some of the lowest turnouts in Wales.

The average turnout across Wales was 42.4 per cent in May 2017 - but only 36.3 per cent in Newport and Caerphilly.

A pilot is being conducted in Caerphilly this year to encourage engagement and improve accessibility.

The council’s Ty Penallta headquarters in Tredomen will be open to the public on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 for people to vote in advance of the main election day on May 5 – which will run as normal.

The voting process for those wanting to vote early will remain the same, but will take place at the council chambers between 10am and 4pm.