Local elections were held in Northern Ireland on 18 May 2023. The elections were delayed by two weeks to avoid overlapping with the coronation of King Charles III. Following the elections, Sinn Féin became the largest party in local government for the first time. It also marked the first time that nationalist parties had garnered a greater share of the vote than unionist parties.

Electoral system Northern Ireland uses the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system to elect members of local councils and members of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Voters rank candidates in order of preference by marking 1, 2, 3, etc. to the names of candidates on a ballot paper and can rank as many or as few candidates as they like or just vote for one candidate.

These were the second Northern Irish elections and the first local election at which people were able to register to vote online.

Background In previous local elections, a unionist party had always won the most seats. In the 2019 Northern Ireland local elections, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) had come first.

At the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, Sinn Féin became the biggest political party in the Assembly for the first time. It was also the first time that the DUP didn't assume the position of First Minister-designate since 2007. Due to the terms outlined in the Good Friday Agreement, the largest nationalist party and the largest unionist party must be in government together. The Executive, Northern Ireland's government, was not currently sitting as the DUP had refused to enter government due to the Northern Ireland Protocol, an agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) that governs the unique customs and immigration issues at the border between Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This move had proved controversial, with the Vice President of Sinn Féin and First Minister-designate, Michelle O'Neill saying that it's "totally unacceptable" for the DUP to refuse to enter the Executive amid a crisis. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) had accused the DUP of treating voters with contempt and "making our electoral process look like a bad joke" and Naomi Long, leader of the Alliance Party, said DUP Assembly Members should not be allowed to claim their salary while they prevented the Assembly from functioning.

Number of candidates The full list of candidates was revealed on 18 May 2023.

Council SF DUP APNI UUP SDLP Ind. TUV GRN AON PBP WP NIC PUP CCLA IRSP SP Total Antrim & Newtownabbey 11 16 10 10 4 3 5 6 1 — — 1 1 — — — 68 Ards & North Down — 17 16 9 3 11 6 7 — — — 3 — — — — 73 Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon 16 15 7 12 9 1 4 — 1 — — — — — — — 65 Belfast 26 18 18 7 11 4 6 10 2 8 6 1 1 — 2 1 121 Causeway Coast & Glens 13 16 8 10 7 8 4 2 4 1 — — 1 — — — 74 Derry & Strabane 18 7 7 5 15 6 — — 5 7 — — — — — — 70 Fermanagh & Omagh 22 9 7 9 7 6 2 — — — — — — 1 — 1 64 Lisburn & Castlereagh 6 18 14 12 6 3 3 3 — — — — — — — — 65 Mid & East Antrim 4 17 10 12 2 2 10 3 — — — — 1 — — — 61 Mid-Ulster 21 11 5 7 7 6 5 — 3 — — — — 1 — — 66 Newry, Mourne & Down 24 8 8 8 15 6 1 6 3 — 1 — — — — — 80 Total 162 152 110 101 86 56 46 37 19 16 7 5 4 2 2 2 807

Opinion polling

Date(s)conducted Pollster Client Samplesize DUP U SF N APNI O UUP U SDLP N TUV U Green O Other Lead 2023 local electionsN/A23.3%30.9%13.3%10.9%8.7%3.9%1.7%7.2%7.6% Institute of Irish Studies University of Liverpool/Irish News 1,013 23%29.8% 14.5% 12.8% 8.3% 5.0% 2.7% 4.9% 6.8% 2019 local electionsN/A24.1%23.2%11.5%14.1%12.0%2.2%2.1%8.2%0.9% In the table above, U signifies unionist, N nationalist and O other.

Results The counting of votes began on 19 May 2023 and finished on 21 May 2023. Preliminary results showed Sinn Féin overtaking the DUP as the largest party in local government. In one DEA, Waterside in Derry and Strabane, the result was incorrectly declared prematurely and the counting of votes was not completed; the counting of votes there resumed on 9 August 2023.

As is common in Northern Ireland under the single transferable vote electoral system, ten of the eleven councils were under no overall control. The exception was Fermanagh and Omagh District Council where Sinn Féin won 21 seats to take a majority of two, becoming the only single party with control of a district council.

Results were published by BBC News.

Results by council CouncilSF(N)DUP(U)APNI(O)UUP(U)SDLP(N)TUV(U)Green(O)PBP(O)PUP(U)Ind. Total U N O Control Antrim & Newtownabbey 9 4 13 1 8 1 7 2 1 3 — — — — 2 1 40 20 3 10 1 10 2 NOC Ards & North Down — 14 12 2 8 1 0 1 2 1 — — 3 40 24 1 1 15 1 Un. Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon 15 5 13 2 4 1 6 4 1 5 1 1 — — — 1 41 21 1 16 4 1 Un. Belfast 22 4 14 1 11 1 2 5 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 0 2 1 1 60 17 2 28 4 15 2 NOC Causeway Coast & Glens 12 3 13 1 5 3 4 3 3 3 2 2 — — 1 — 1 40 20 2 15 5 3 NOC Derry & Strabane 18 7 5 2 0 2 3 1 10 1 — — 1 1 — 3 1 40 8 1 31 4 1 3 Nat. Fermanagh & Omagh 21 6 6 1 2 1 7 2 3 2 — — — — 1 3 40 13 1 25 1 2 Nat. Lisburn & Castlereagh 4 2 14 1 13 4 6 5 2 — 0 1 — — 1 1 40 21 5 6 2 13 3 Un. Mid & East Antrim 4 2 14 1 7 8 1 0 1 5 ——— 2 1 40 29 1 4 1 7 Un. Mid-Ulster 19 2 11 2— 2 4 5 ———— 3 1 40 13 2 27 2 0 Nat. Newry, Mourne & Down 20 4 5 2 5 3 1 3 8 3———— 2 3 41 6 2 30 5 2 Nat. Total 144 39 122 67 14 54 21 39 20 9 3 5 3 2 3 1 2 19 5 462 192 21 193 15 77 7

Largest party by council Map key Council Seats Largest party (no. of seats) Details 2019 2023 1Belfast60 (18) (22)Details 2Ards & North Down40 (14) (14)Details3Antrim & Newtownabbey40 (14) (13)Details 4Lisburn & Castlereagh40 (15) (14)Details 5Newry, Mourne & Down41 (16) (20) Details 6Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon41 (11) (15)Details 7Mid & East Antrim40 (15) (14)Details 8Causeway Coast & Glens40 (14) (13)Details 9Mid Ulster40 (17) (19)Details 10 Derry City & Strabane40 (11) Sinn Féin (18) Details (11) 11Fermanagh & Omagh40 (15) (21*)DetailsAll Councils in Northern Ireland462 (122) (144)

*Absolute Majority

Results by party

Party Councillors % of councillors First preference votes % of FP votes 2019 2023 +/- 2019 2023 +/- 2019 2023 +/- 2019 2023 +/- 105 144 39 22.7% 31.2% 8.5% 157,448 230,793 73,345 23.2% 30.9% 7.7% 122 122 0 26.4% 26.4% 0.0% 163,615 173,033 9,418 24.1% 23.3% 0.8% 53 67 14 11.5% 14.5% 3.0% 78,052 99,251 21,199 11.5% 13.3% 1.8% 75 54 21 16.2% 11.7% 4.5% 95,320 81,282 14,038 14.1% 10.9% 3.2% 59 39 20 12.8% 8.4% 4.4% 81,419 64,996 16,423 12.0% 8.7% 3.3% 24 19 5 5.2% 4.1% 1.1% 29,339 34,396 5,057 4.3% 4.6% 0.3% 6 9 3 1.3% 1.9% 0.6% 15,165 29,202 14,037 2.2% 3.9% 1.7% 8 5 3 1.7% 1.1% 0.6% 14,284 12,692 1,592 2.1% 1.7% 0.4% 5 2 3 1.1% 0.4% 0.7% 9,478 8,059 1,419 1.4% 1.0% 0.4% 3 1 2 0.6% 0.2% 0.4% 5,338 2,103 3,235 0.8% 0.3% 0.5% 1 0 1 0.2% 0.0% 0.2% 7,459 6,771 688 1.1% 0.9% 0.2% 1 0 1 0.2% 0.0% 0.2% 880 772 108 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0 0 0.0% 0.0% N/A 825 825 N/A 0.1% N/A 0 0 0.0% 0.0% 1,364 438 926 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0 0 0.0% 0.0% N/A 678 678 N/A 0.1% N/A 0 0 0.0% 0.0% N/A 224 224 N/A 0.0% N/A Total 462 462 100.0% 100.0% 663,916 745,515

Councils

Antrim and Newtownabbey Airport Party Candidate 1st Matthew Magill1,827 Anne-Marie Logue1,574 Maighréad Ní Chonghaile1,335 Andrew McAuley1,209 Paul Michael1,075 Thomas Burns862 Terri Johnston134Turnout8,016Sinn Féin gain from SDLP

Antrim Party Candidate 1st Lucille O'Hagan1,270 Neil Kelly1,091 Paul Dunlop986 Leah Smyth744 John Smyth721 Roisin Lynch678 Richard Shields453 Jim Montgomery442 Tommy Monahan396 Karl McMeekin257 Eleanor Bailey88Turnout7,126Sinn Féin gain from UUP

Ballyclare Party Candidate 1st Jeannie Archibald1,655 Vera McWilliam1,131 Lewis Boyle977 Helen Magill947 Michael Stewart928 Mel Lucas747 Norrie Ramsey604 Robert Robinson109 Gerard Magee86Turnout7,184Alliance gain from UUP

Dunsilly Party Candidate 1st Henry Cushinan1,390 Annie O'Lone1,214 Linda Clarke977 Jay Burbank913 Stewart Wilson843 Ryan Wilson724 Tom Cunningham705 Jonathan Campbell445 Siobhán McErlean243Turnout7,454Sinn Féin gain from SDLP

Glengormley Urban Party Candidate 1st Alison Bennington1,432 Eamonn McLaughlin1,280 Julian McGrath994 Rosie Kinnear972 Mark Cosgrove952 Paula Bradley852 Michael Goodman841 Noreen McClelland565 Anita Piatek413 Paul Veronica313 Michael Maguire102 Jason Reid49Turnout8,765Sinn Féin gain from SDLP

Macedon Party Candidate 1st Taylor McGrann1,326 Matthew Brady1,220 Robert Foster1,138 Billy Webb1,085 Ben Mallon574 Victor Robinson553 Stafford Ward487 Norman Boyd333 Rosemary Bell-McCracken244 Ellie Byrne158Turnout7,118Independent gain from DUP

Three Mile Water Party Candidate 1st Mark Cooper1,575 Tom Campbell1,390 Stephen Ross1,211 Stephen Cosgrove899 Julie Gilmour711 Sam Flanagan574 Brian Kerr530 Trevor Mawhinney425 Emmanuel Mullen325 Dylan Loughlin162Turnout7,802No change

Ards and North Down Ards Peninsula Party Candidate 1st Robert Adair1,959 Joe Boyle1,279 Lorna McAlpine1,266 Noel Sands945 Davy Kerr827 Pete Wray739 Eddie Thompson687 Nigel Edmund633 Tom Thompson592 Gillian McNaull149 Boyd Ireland108Turnout9,184No change

Bangor Central Party Candidate 1st Karen Douglas1,378 Wesley Irvine1,369 Alistair Cathcart1,053 Craig Blaney917 Ray McKimm885 Chris McCracken666 Stephen Dunlop583 Peter Wilson454 Alex Harbinson385 Dean McSorley361 Rachel McCord313 Tim Mullen86Turnout8,450Wesley Irvine leaves DUPAlliance gain from Green

Bangor East and Donaghadee Party Candidate 1st Mark Brooks1,972 Hannah Irwin1,445 James Cochrane1,275 David Chambers932 Janice MacArthur712 Bill Keery641 Gillian McCollum585 Tom Smith460 Ciara Henry355 Paul Leeman119Turnout8,496Alliance gain from Independent

Bangor West Party Candidate 1st Christine Chrighton1,175 Jennifer Gilmour1,033 Stephen Hollywood867 Barry McKee737 Peter Martin640 Susan Prentice510 Huw Stacy395 Alison McWhinney388 John Gordon331 Tony McCann297 Colin Breen132Turnout6,505DUP gain from Alliance

Comber Party Candidate 1st Libby Douglas1,501 Philip Smith1,407 Trevor Cummings1,303 Patricia Morgan1,081 Rachel Ashe1,019 Sam Patterson409 Stephen Cooper322 Cory Quinn197 John Sloan47Turnout7,286Alliance gain from TUV

Holywood and Clandeboye Party Candidate 1st Martin McRandal1,222 Rachel Woods1,134 Alan Graham1,112 David Rossiter1,074 Linzi McLaren989 Helen Corbett875 Déirdre Vaughan539 Carl McClean419 Diane Adams364Turnout7,728No change

Newtownards Party Candidate 1st Steven Irvine1,463 Naomi Armstrong1,370 Richard Smart1,257 Alan McDowell1,236 Stephen McIlveen1,057 Vicky Moore947 Eddie Allen598 Colin Kennedy580 Ian Cox527 Maurice Macartney226 Ben King24Turnout9,285No change

Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Armagh Party Candidate 1st Fergal Donnelly2,158 Scott Armstrong1,924 Ashley Mallon1,661 Thomas O'Hanlon1,654 John Óg O'Kane1,508 Sarah Duffy1,409 Sam Nicholson1,328 Gráinne O'Neill966 Hanagh Winter619 Daniel Connolly357Turnout13,584Sinn Féin gain from SDLP DUP gain from UUP

Banbridge Party Candidate 1st Joy Ferguson1,961 Glenn Barr1,903 Chris McCartan1,750 Paul Greenfield1,747 Kevin Savage1,595 Ian Wilson1,296 Jill Macauley1,055 Ian Burns984 Seamus Doyle787 Brian Moorhead593Turnout13,671Sinn Féin gain from UUP

Craigavon Party Candidate 1st Jude Mallon1,964 Catherine Nelson1,897 Margaret Tinsley1,811 Robbie Alexander1,392 Ian Patterson1,360 Kate Evans1,305 Declan McAlinden762 Jackie Coade196Turnout10,757Sinn Féin gain from SDLP Alliance gain from SDLP

Cusher Party Candidate 1st Brona Haughey2,177 Paul Berry2,059 Keith Ratcliffe2,037 Gareth Wilson1,912 Philip Weir1,380 Gordon Kennedy1,099 Mark Skillen594 Emma Jayne McKernan578 Ewan McNeill442Turnout12,278TUV gain from UUP

Lagan River Party Candidate 1st Mark Baxter2,261 Jessica Johnston1,762 Paul Rankin1,505 Kyle Savage1,393 Tim McClelland1,137 Samuel Morrison627 Sammy Ogle593 Vincent McAleenan502 Oisín Edwards220Turnout10,000No change