Two days of vote counting finishes after Northern Ireland’s council elections
Sinn Féin becomes the largest party in local government in Northern Ireland for the first time
DUP retains same number of seats, Alliance makes gains while UUP and SDLP suffer losses
Councils are responsible for services such as waste collection, street cleaning, planning, parks and leisure services
The elections use the single transferable vote system - a form of proportional representation
Image source, PA MediaAnd that's a wrap on our 2023 local election coverage.
After two days of counting across 11 councils all 462 seats have now been filled.
If you're still up, thanks for sticking with us.
There will be plenty of news and analysis across TV, radio and online from tomorrow morning, including an hour-long special of the Sunday Politics on BBC One at 10:00 BST.
But for now, we're off to bed. Goodnight.
Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political editor
Image source, Getty ImagesIn the end it was more a coronation for Sinn Féin than a contest.
Crowned local government kingpins without even breaking sweat.
From the moment the first ballot box was opened the party was on course to make history.
But not even Sinn Féin predicted the scale of its success. Sweeping to victory with a staggering 144 seats leaving the once dominant DUP trailing 22 seats behind.
Almost one in every three votes cast went to Sinn Féin and it picked up new seats in 10 of the 11 super councils.
It was, to quote Naomi Long, a "tsunami" which caught the other parties by surprise. Such was the size of the green wave it left some unionists bewildered.
Read more analysis from Enda here.
Sinn Féin are now the largest party in six council areas compared to four in 2019.
The DUP retained their seats from 2019, but are only the biggest party in five council areas, compared to six in 2019.
After a long wait that tipped the local election count into a third day, the Belfast count has ended with the final seat going to People Before Profit's Michael Collins in the Collin DEA.
His victory means he is the party's sole representative in Belfast City Council.
Sinn Féin came out on top in Belfast, adding four seats to have 22 councillors.
The DUP are only down one seat, but it was a big loss in their group leader George Dorrian.
Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent
We're still here, patiently waiting on the last seat to be filled at Belfast City Council.
It’s just gone midnight so counting has officially entered a third day.
Could things soon wrap up? Collin is the last seat to play for.
Half an hour ago we were told it would be another 25 minutes or so.
Whisper it... come on Collin.
Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent
It has got its final seat in Belfast's Botanic DEA taking their overall number of councillors 144.
It is a big jump from 2019 when the party won 105 seats.
It’s beyond Sinn Féin's party predictions as they had hoped to hit the 120-130 mark.
Relief for Áine Groogan as she keeps her seat in Botanic for the Greens.
Anthony Flynn has also retained his seat in Ormiston.
And Brian Smyth takes his seat in Lisnasharragh.
Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent
Talk of a win for People Before Profit in Collin may have been premature.
The SDLP is still in the fight after the latest stage and with about 1,200 votes from others yet to be distributed, a party source tells me it could end up very close.
Watch this space.
There are nine seats left to declare across the four district electoral areas.
In Botanic we’re being warned it could go on until midnight..
5 Questions On...The Northern Ireland elections - What have we learnt?
For more analysis and reaction you can join Mark Carruthers for an hour-long special of Sunday Politics at 10:00 BST tomorrow on BBC One.
He will be joined by politicians from the five main parties as well as a panel of experts.
Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent
Sinn Féin has taken another seat in Collin and is on track in its drive for five - gaining a seat at the expense of the SDLP.
People Before Profit’s Michael Collins will hold the last seat there and be his party’s sole representative on the council.
Meanwhile there are still 12 seats left to declare in Belfast.
Ormiston could run for a good few hours yet. Send coffee!
Maria McCann
BBC News NI
The big story in Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council is Sinn Féin winning a seat in Coleraine for the first time ever.
Niamh Archibald won the party’s 12th seat, meaning it gained three councillors since the 2019 election.
The DUP will remain the largest party but only by one, with 13 representatives returning.
The Alliance Party gained three extra representatives and will see five councillors in the chamber.
It will be the first time Limavady and Ballymoney DEAs have elected Alliance representatives in decades.
The Ulster Unionist Party lost two seats and has four councillors while the SDLP secured three.
After losing all three of its representatives in 2019, the TUV is returning to Cloonavin with two councillors.
And the PUP’s only elected councillor in Northern Ireland, Russell Watton, was elected again to Coleraine.
Despite a power cut at the count centre, Newry, Mourne and Down has become the ninth council to declare all of its seats.
The SDLP took the council's final two seats with Michael Savage and Doire Finn winning in the Newry ward.
Sinn Féin remains the dominant force on the council with 20 seats, up from 16 in 2019.
While it remains in second place, the SDLP has lost ground, losing three seats for a total of eight.
Alliance Party has leapfrogged the UUP to take joint- third place on the council with the DUP on five seats each.
Previously the council's third-largest party, the UUP has now dropped to one seat, while fewer independents were returned this time around with two, down from five.
Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent
Fiona Ferguson has officially lost her seat in Oldpark - a blow for People Before Profit.
Paul McCusker’s transfers helped bring her over the line in 2019. He ran as an independent this time around after leaving the SDLP.
PBP had hoped to maintain its three seats in Belfast.
Image source, Liam McBurney/PAIt was a family affair for one new Titanic councillor - the Alliance Party's Fiona McAteer - who was joined by her husband Richard and five-year-old daughter Emmie at Belfast City Hall.
The party won two seats in Titanic with both David Bell and Ms McAteer elected.
There are 20 seats still to be won.
Belfast City Council has declared 46 of 60 seats so far with 14 left, while in Causeway Coast and Glens Council there are seven seats still to declare.
The council areas below have finished counting and all seats declared -
Gareth Gordon
BBC News NI political correspondent
Sinn Fein's victory in the Northern Ireland council elections may not be a surprise but the size of it probably is.
Not only is the party dominant in traditionally-nationalist areas but it is reaching places it has never reached before.
The DUP is secure in second, with the party claiming an endorsement for its policy of boycotting Stormont over the post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland.
Image source, Getty ImagesSinn Fein vice-president Michelle O'Neill has overseen two successful elections for her party in the past 13 months
But nevertheless there have been calls for unionist realignment.
Former DUP leader Edwin Poots says unionism needs to "wake up and smell the coffee", while Mike Nesbitt, the former Ulster Unionist leader, believes there should only be two unionist parties - one traditional and one more liberal.
The Alliance Party takes third place after leapfrogging the Ulster Unionists.
The new political landscape seems to have less room for smaller parties, with losses for People Before Profit and the Green Party, whose leader Mal O'Hara lost his seat in Belfast.
But remember this election was to Northern Ireland's eleven councils - it is unlikely to have any immediate impact on the stalemate at Stormont, with the DUP holding out for movement from the government over the Irish Sea trade border.
Sara Neill
BBC News NI
The last seat on Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council finally has someone to sit on it.
It’s gone to independent Stafford Ward, on the eighth count in the Macedon ward.
Of the 40 seats on this council, 20 are now held by parties that designate as unionist, while 10 are in the hands of nationalist parties.
The DUP has lost one but still dominates the chamber, while Sinn Féin has made a big gain of four but not quite doubling its previous tally of five that the party had aimed for.
There was a gain of one for the Alliance Party but more bad news for the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP, losing two and three councillors respectively.
In the previous council mandate the balance was 23 unionists and nine nationalists.
Robbie Meredith
BBC News NI Education Correspondent
The Green Party claims the last seat on Ards and North Down Council, with Barry McKee the successful candidate in the Bangor West ward.
It is a second seat for the party on the council, after former Stormont assembly member Rachel Woods was elected earlier.
Things didn't change much on the council this time around, with the DUP remaining stable on 14 while the Alliance Party remained the second biggest, although with two more seats than before.
The Green Party, despite McKee and Woods' success, dropped one seat while the TUV lost its only seat.