Northern Ireland election 2023: Polls close in vote for councils

Polls have now closed in the Northern Ireland council elections, with counting of votes to begin on Friday morning.

Voters cast their ballots to decide who should represent them on Northern Ireland's 11 councils.

A total of 807 candidates are competing for 462 seats.

The first ballot boxes are expected to be opened at about 08:00 BST on Friday, with counting anticipated to continue into Saturday.

About 1.4 million people were eligible to vote in the election, which was originally due to take place on 4 May but was delayed due to the King's Coronation.

It is only the third election to 11 so-called super councils in Northern Ireland.

Groom Pat Campbell (far right) and part of his wedding party called at the polling station at St Patrick's Primary School in Clonoe, County Tyrone, on the way to his marriage ceremony

It was also only the second time in 26 years that Northern Ireland held a standalone council election - normally they are run alongside polls for Stormont or Westminster.

Voters used the single transferable vote (STV) system, the same as that used in Northern Ireland Assembly elections.

People ranked candidates in numerical preference, marking their ballot 1,2,3 and so on for as many or as few preferences as they want.

Candidates are then elected according to the share of the vote they receive.

To find out who stood in your area, type your postcode into the bar below.

The number of candidates is slightly down from the 819 people who put their names forward for the previous council elections four years ago.

• What can't I do in a polling station?

• All you need to know about NI council elections

• How does voting work in NI council elections?