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The Northern Ireland Protocol has been cited by the leaders of all three main unionist parties in their last-ditch appeal to voters as the province goes to the polls today.

The DUP, UUP, and TUV all made mention of the post-Brexit arrangements as they delivered eve-of-poll statements, with non-unionists framing the council election as a chance to send a message to the DUP that Stormont should be restored.

Polls open today at 7am, and close at 10pm, with results expected to start flowing in sometime tomorrow afternoon.

After the 2019 elections, the complexion of councillors across Northern Ireland was as follows, according to the ARK election monitoring website:

DUP (122 seats), Sinn Fein (105), UUP (75), SDLP (59), Alliance (53), Greens (8), TUV (6), People Before Profit (5), PUP (3), and Aontu (1).

Last night DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said today’s election is not just about local councils, “but it will also help shape the future direction of Northern Ireland” as he called for voters to stand united behind his party.

The UUP’s Doug Beattie pledged “confident pro-Union leadership” and “an alternative to stalemate”, while the TUV’s Jim Allister offered a home for voters opposed to “the iniquitous protocol and the infamy of Sinn Fein rule”.

Election 2023: Back us say political leaders, as Northern Ireland heads to polls