LIVE: Local Government Elections 2023 - News from the count centres as Northern Ireland council seats are filled
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Thankyou for staying with us during the 2023 Northern Ireland Election count which has now finished
Northern Ireland Local Government Elections 2023
Key Events
- First councillors elected in Northern Ireland local government elections
- Counting is under way at all 11 count centres
- 462 council seats are being contested at this year's election
Elections 2023: First councillors elected in Northern Ireland local government elections
The first councillors have been elected in the Northern Ireland local government elections.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson appeared upbeat at an early stage of counting in the local government elections.
Speaking at the Lisburn and Castlereagh Council count, Sir Jeffrey indicated his party was polling well in the area, and would hold its seats in four district electoral areas (DEA) that are being counted so far.
He also indicated they hoped to gain a seat in two DEAs, but it was too early to tell if that would happen.
“The Alliance Party is polling well in some of areas too, Sinn Fein have done well where you might expect them, so I think the pattern so far in Lisburn and Castlereagh is DUP holding its ground, Alliance perhaps making some gains, perhaps at the expense of the Ulster Unionist Party, and Sinn Fein perhaps making one or two gains at the expense of the SDLP,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.
“Our vote has gone up in some areas in Lisburn and Castlereagh but it’s too early to tell if we will make a gain. I think we were targeting a gain in a couple of areas but we haven’t seen the results yet for those two areas.”
Signs that voter turnout is significantly up in Belfast City Council area
Five district counts are underway in Belfast with the results of the turnout for each area showing more than half of those eligible to vote did so
Derry & Strabane Council - Former mayor Graham Warke excluded in Faughan DEA, strong poll by Sinn Féin and Ulster Unionist Party
Former Mayor Graham Warke has been eliminated after the first stage of the count in the Faughan District Electoral Area
Frank McCoubrey (DUP), Nicola Verner (DUP) and Tina Black (SF) all elected on first count in Court DEA