MPs from across the Commonwealth have arrived in Darlington to assess the town’s election standards.

Election officials and MPs from 30 Commonwealth countries are in the town to carry out an Election Assessment Mission (EAM).

The purpose of the EAM is to ensure election standards across the Darlington constituency are in line with national guidelines.

The MPs are aiming to visit all the polling stations in the constituency across the day, where they will monitor procedure at each station.

They will meet with candidates, returning officers, local officials and community groups in order to assess the conduct of the election, and will also be on hand after the election to deal with any complaints in relation to the constituency.

Officials from Sierra Leone, the Seychelles and Antigua and Barbuda have flown across the Atlantic for a six day visit to take part in the EAM.

The EAM, which is being arranged by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch (CPA UK) as it did in the 2015 and 2010 General Elections, will also observe elections in seven other UK constituencies to oversee polling, counting and post-election complaints and appeals.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, Sebastian Pillay, head of the mission and MP for Seychelles, said: “Exercising the right to vote is a fundamental part of democracy, and CPA UK’s EAM will seek to ensure the UK election process is legitimate and representative of the electorate.

“Darlington was interesting in 2015 – there was a number of issues that we picked up in the Electoral Commission’s review.

Mr Pillay said the EAM was not about comparing systems with other countries.

“Each country has a system which works for them - we are only here to observe and make sure everything is matching with the standards that are set.

A number ofareas for improvement were highlighted in 2015 such as preventing political campaigning in nearby polling stations on election day and ensuring polling stations are accessible to those with limited mobility, whilst the 2010 report ensured voters queuing when polling stations close at 10pm can still cast their votes.

Andrew Tuggey, chief executive of CPA UK, added: “I warmly welcome parliamentarians and election officials from across the Commonwealth and thank them for their commitment – assessing elections upholds the core values of the Commonwealth.”