Northern Ireland elections 2023: Candidate nominations close

Nominations for those seeking to stand in May's local government elections have closed.

The poll on 18 May was pushed back by two weeks due to the coronation of King Charles III on 6 May.

It will be the first electoral test for Northern Ireland's political parties since last May's assembly elections.

There are 462 seats that will be contested in all of Northern Ireland's 11 councils.

Those seeking to be candidates in the election had to have their documentation submitted before the deadline.

• All you need to know about NI council elections

The DUP won the most council seats in 2019 elections at 122 seats with Sinn Féin not far behind on 105.

However, they were overtaken by Sinn Féin in last year's assembly election.

Since then, there has been stalemate at Stormont with the DUP's boycott of the executive and assembly in protest at the post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Northern Ireland councils are funded via rates, government grants and fees charged for local services.

They look after a range of services, including waste collection and disposal, local planning, street cleaning, sport and leisure services, and parks and open spaces.

The elections use the single transferable vote (STV) system, the same as is used for elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

For more information on what's at stake, read BBC News NI's local election guide.