Election 2019: Increase in number of voters on electoral register

The number of registered voters for the Westminster election has risen

More than 1.25m people in Northern Ireland are eligible to vote in the general election, according to figures from the Electoral Office.

The total eligible electorate is 1,293,971, an increase of 51,273 on the last general election two years ago.

There has been a rise in the number of eligible voters in each of the 18 constituencies.

The greatest increases in registration are in three constituencies where there are likely to be close contests.

There are 4,022 extra voters on the register in Foyle, 3,976 extra in North Belfast and 3,879 in South Belfast.

The smallest growth was in North Antrim, where 1,477 were added to the register.

Last month the Electoral Office said it had processed more than 235,000 applications from members of the public seeking to be placed on the register since the start of 2019.

The office said it had received 72,500 applications in the past three weeks alone.

Explaining the disparity in the figures, an Electoral Office source pointed out that 34,000 people who could vote in the European election are not eligible to vote in the Westminster contest.

Other factors may include natural mortality and duplicate applications from people unaware they were already on the register.