ROCHESTER: Britain's anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) was set to claim its second seat in parliament, as votes were counted early Friday in the town of Rochester, potentially foreshadowing a political upheaval at next year's general election.
The by-election in southeast England on Thursday was called after MP Mark Reckless defected in September from Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party to UKIP, which wants strict quotas on immigration.
Speculation over further defections to UKIP swirled after Reckless suggested two more Conservative lawmakers could switch, piling pressure on Cameron six months from the May general election.
Furious campaigning by the Conservatives to keep the once-safe Rochester and Strood seat failed to steal back momentum, and experts portrayed the election as a historic moment in British politics if surveys indicating a UKIP win are borne out.
As he arrived at the vote counting centre dressed in a dark suit, the UKIP candidate Reckless told reporters he would not anticipate the result of the vote.
"We take nothing for granted," Reckless said. "I'm looking forward to seeing the votes counted and hearing the results later this morning."
Cameron vowed to "throw everything" at the battle, and a defeat would deal a blow to his reputation after he spearheaded the campaign, with the potential to turn into a full-blown crisis if the result triggers further defections.
The by-election comes a month after the Conservatives lost a previously safe seat of Clacton to another defector, Douglas Carswell, hading UKIP its first ever seat in the national parliament.
The prime minister has already promised a referendum on Britain's EU membership if his party wins next year's general election and has taken a harder stance on immigration in a bid to stem the flow.
Voter turnout was announced to be just under 51 percent, and results were expected some time before 0400 GMT.
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