UPDATE 2 - UK election: Conservative Party set to win big majority

UPDATES WITH EARLY RESULTS, CHANGES HEADLINE, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – Britain’s leading Conservative Party is set to win a majority according to early results and an exit poll following one of the most significant elections of recent times.

The Conservative Party was projected to win the U.K.’s third general election in less than five years by an exit poll as voting ended at 10 p.m. (2200 GMT).

The exit poll gives Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s party 368 seats and 46% of the votes -- a majority of 86.

The Tories have won 102 seats so far after more than 200 constituencies from a total of 650 declared election results.

They are followed by Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, which is predicted to win 191 seats with 32% of the ballot.

The Labour Party has won 81 seats according to the results as of 3 a.m.

The ballot count started at 10 p.m. straight after voting was over.

Approximately 49 million registered voters were expected to head to the polls in one of the most crucial general elections the country has ever held.

- Tory majority

With the exit poll outlook, which has a plus or minus 20-seat margin of error, Johnson will form the new government following what has been described as the most important election in a generation.

Johnson will go ahead with his Brexit plan to leave the European Union by Jan. 31, 2020.

He thanked all voters on Twitter shortly after the exit poll was revealed.

“Thank you to everyone across our great country who voted, who volunteered, who stood as candidates. We live in the greatest democracy in the world,” he wrote.

- Labour

The Labour Party is projected to get the worst results since 1935 if the exit poll proves correct.

Corbyn’s party is predicted to win 191 seats, unable to repeat its election success in 2017.

- Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party (SNP) will win 55 seats, according to the exit poll.

It would be considered a success after a poorer performance in the 2017 snap election.

It has won 16 seats according to early results.

The party has an agenda to hold a second independence referendum in 2020 if Scotland is dragged out of the European Union against its will. The majority of voters in Scotland chose to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum.

Johnson has repeatedly denied such a referendum would happen.

The final results could take as long as Friday evening to emerge.