Labour loses control of Blaenau Gwent and Bridgend and loses its leader in Merthyr Tydfil
In 10 councils there is no party with a majority
Conservatives gain a majority in Monmouthshire and become largest party in Vale of Glamorgan and Denbighshire
Plaid Cymru increases its majority in Gwynedd and falls just short of taking Carmarthenshire
Flintshire
Prof Roger Scully
Flintshire - the last council was Labour-led, no overall control
“This is one of the councils in the north east where the Conservatives have a realistic prospect of gaining seats in the general election.
“Can we see them making gains here – and elsewhere in the north east as a launchpad to the general election?"
Labour won 33 of the 42 seats in Blaenau Gwent in 2012.
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Prof Roger Scully sets the scene for the evening
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Benchmarks: UKIP
UKIP went into this year's election with no councillors in any of Wales' 22 unitary authorities.
It has fielded 80 candidates and while that means it cannot hope to control any councils, the party says it hopes to hold the balance of power in some.
but no decorations!
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There are 75 seats on Cardiff council and BBC Wales' James Williams has heard Labour could be facing losses.
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Benchmarks: Liberal Democrats
Prof Scully says the Liberal Democrats "suffered horrendous losses five years ago" and that they will be looking to make "some sort of significant gains", particularly in their areas of historic strength.
The party will be hoping to make gains in Cardiff, a council it ran until 2012 (albeit without a majority).
The Lib Dems dropped to 72 councillors in 2012, so will be hoping to get over the 100-seat mark this time.
Cardiff council has had to organise replacement Welsh announcers for the local election counts at the last minute after four of the council's officers pulled out on Thursday.
The officers refused to take part, following a decision to announce the results in English before Welsh.
One of the four who pulled out told BBC Wales that they "personally felt" that the decision was "a step backwards".
A council spokesman said: "As a council we take our duty to promote the Welsh language very seriously and are committed to promoting a fully bilingual Cardiff.
"According to Electoral Commission guidance the order for reading out election results bilingually is at the discretion of the returning officer. This is certainly not devaluing the status of the Welsh language and is not in breach of the Welsh Language standards, which we fully support."
BBC Wales' Ben Wright tweets:
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Election day means #dogsatpollingstations was trending on Twitter. Here's a selection of pictures of your pets at polling stations across Wales.
Penny poses as her owner votes in Cardiff
Image source, Rhiannon WestSherbie the beagle waits patiently in Caerphilly
Image source, @burnspetfood/TwitterGregory rests his legs outside Kidwelly polling station in Carmarthenshire
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Benchmarks: Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats all lost councillors in Wales in 2012.
Of these, Prof Scully says Plaid Cymru "probably held up best" in that contest, meaning that the party suffered the most limited losses.
He adds that Plaid will be looking to make gains - and reaching a total of 200 councillors across Wales would be an important benchmark for them.
The count in Newport is taking place at the Wales National Velodrome.
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Benchmarks: Conservatives
Prof Scully says the Conservatives haven't performed particularly well in local elections in Wales in recent years.
They performed "quite poorly" in 2012 and "don't have an impressive record in local government by-elections since then".
But with the party doing so well in the opinion polls and in the context of the general election as well, he says they will be expecting to make gains in terms of seats and also to be picking up control of one or two councils too.
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Benchmarks: Labour
Prof Roger Scully from Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre says it's likely Labour will lose ground in these elections - the only question is to whom.
Labour added more than 200 seats to its Welsh total in 2012 after a low point in 2008.
Prof Scully said he would be "surprised and impressed" if Labour in Wales can hold its losses to below 100 councillors this time.
He adds that if the party suffers significantly more than 200 losses in Wales, then it is having a "pretty bad" election here.
Prof Laura McAllister from Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre has blogged her thoughts on the local elections in Wales, external with guest local government expert Dr Michael Cole from the University of Liverpool as a guest contributor.
They say these elections not only "determine the political make-up of a critical tier of democracy, one theoretically closest to the citizen" but will also be watched closely "as they will also provide critical intelligence as to the political mood of the country at a time of unprecedented fluidity".
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Nearly 100 councillors in Wales will not be attending counts in the next 24 hours. As no-one else is standing in their wards, they'll be reappointed uncontested.
Prof Scully suggests the situation makes "a mockery of democracy".
One ward, Yscir, will have no representative on Powys council, because no-one put their name forward.
