Election 2016 - Your decision

THIS week 91 candidates will battle it out for 20 Oldham Council seats with some of the authority’s biggest players desperate to stay in office.

On Thursday (May 5) Mayor of Oldham Ateeque Ur-Rehman, deputy council leader Councillor Abdul Jabbar, leader of the opposition Howard Sykes and former council leader candidate Arooj Shah are all defending their council seat.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats will contest all 20 seats.The Conservatives have put up 19 candidates, UKIP and Green Party have both put forward 14 and there are four independents.

Currently, of the 60 Oldham Council seats, Labour occupy 44, the Liberal Democrats have 10, there are two Conservatives, two UKIP and two independents.

Kaiser Rehman recently had his whip removed by the Labour Party and is therefore an independent councillor.

As reported in the Evening Chronicle, after holding the Chadderton South seat since 1994, Labour’s Dave Hibbert was deselected.

Fellow Labour stalwart Bernard Judge was also deselected by local party members in Royton North after 33 years as councillor there - he will instead contest the Crompton seat.

Fellow former Mayor of Oldham Liberal Democrat Val Sedgwick has stepped down after representing Saddleworth West and Lees since 1992.

Labour’s David Dawson also steps down after four years in Failsworth East.

Residents across the borough will be voting in the local elections on May 5, between 7am and 10pm.

One-third of Oldham Council’s 60 seats - one in each of the 20 wards - are being contested.

The local elections count will be held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, West Street, Oldham on the night of May 5.

For all the results and reaction read the Evening Chronicle on May 6 or follow @OldhamChronicle on Twitter for live updates.