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Local and mayoral elections

Elections will be held in Lewisham on Thursday 7 May 2026 for the Mayor of Lewisham and 54 ward councillors.

Notices of election

Who's eligible to vote in these elections?

All people on the electoral register are eligible to vote in these elections, except for British citizens living overseas. If you are not yet registered to vote, please do so now at www.gov.uk/registertovote 

Poll cards will be sent from Monday 23 March to all voters.

Who are the candidates?

The nominations period will end on Thursday 9 April. On Friday 10 April we will publish final list of candidates for the mayoral contest and all 19 wards.

Registration deadline

The last date to register to vote in this election is midnight on Monday 20 April 2026.

Postal vote deadline

The last date to submit a postal vote application is 5pm on Tuesday 21 April 2026.

Proxy vote deadline

The last date to submit a proxy vote application is 5pm on Tuesday 28 April 2026.

Mayoral candidate address booklet

In mayoral elections the Returning Officer is required to compile a candidate address booklet. All candidates will be asked if they wish to provide a statement. The booklet will be sent to all voters in the post.

We will also publish it here on or around Monday 13 April 2026.

Timetable for the elections

  • Monday 23 March - notice of election - start of the election process
  • Thursday 9 April, 4pm - close of nominations
  • Friday 10 April, 4pm - statement of persons nominated - official list of candidates announced
  • Monday 13 April - Mayoral candidate address booklet published on the website
  • Monday 20 April - midnight: registration deadline - if you're not registered, go to gov.uk/registertovote
  • Tuesday 21 April, 5pm - postal vote application deadline
  • Tuesday 28 April, 5pm - proxy vote application deadline
  • Thursday 30 April - first day to replace lost or spoilt postal votes
  • Thursday 7 May - polling day - polling stations open 7am to 10pm
  • Friday 8 May - results for all contests to be declared from 1pm onwards

Official election notices

Below you will find all the official election notices as they are published. 

Information for candidates and agents

Nominations

To stand for election, you must submit:

  • a nomination form
  • a home address form
  • a consent to nomination form

If standing for a political party, you must also submit:

  • a certificate of authorisation
  • a request to use a party emblem (optional)

Nominations must be submitted by hand to the Returning Officer, Electoral Services, Ground Floor, Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, London SE6 4RU.

They can only be submitted between 10am and 4pm on each working day from Monday 23 March 2026 to 4pm Thursday 9 April 2026.

It is recommended that an appointment is made to submit nominations.

Informal checks

We provide informal checks of nomination papers prior to formal submission to help identify and correct any errors. Please email documents to electoral.services@lewisham.gov.uk.

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