NI council election moved to avoid coronation clash

A man puts a ballot paper into a ballot boxGetty Images
By Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent

The date of Northern Ireland's council election will be moved back by two weeks to Thursday 18 May to avoid clashing with King Charles III's coronation.

Northern Ireland Office Minister, Steve Baker, sent a letter about the change to the chief executives of 11 councils.

The election had initially been planned for Thursday 4 May.

The coronation is due to take place on Saturday 6 May.

In the letter to council heads, Mr Baker stated that the chief electoral officer Virginia McVea had confirmed that the count was due to run into the day of the coronation and that it would "impede the smooth running of the election and cause difficulties for staff involved".

He added that after discussions with political parties, Ms McVea and the Electoral Commission the government was proposing legislation to move the date.

Under Section 84 of the Northern Ireland Act, the legislation underpinning Stormont's institutions after the Good Friday Agreement peace deal was reached in 1998, the government has the power to change election dates.

Mr Baker also confirmed in a tweet that the date would be moved to avoid a clash with King Charles III's coronation.

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No overnight count

Unlike in Great Britain, where council elections are also happening next year, votes in Northern Ireland will not be counted overnight.

Counting was not due to begin until the morning of Friday 5 May but under the new plans it will not take place until Friday 19 May.

During the last council elections in 2019, counting continued well into Saturday evening.

The process can take many hours as results are determined using the proportional representation system of single transferable vote (STV).

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