NI council elections 2023: 200 candidates out of 462 seats elected

Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, Mary Lou McDonald and Tina Black celebrate at Belfast City Hall

Counting is continuing in local elections in Northern Ireland, with nearly half of the seats filled

So far, this has been a good day for Sinn Féin with most seats returned, followed by the DUP and then Alliance.

200 councillors out of 462 have been elected. A total of 807 people are competing for 462 seats in council chambers across Northern Ireland.

A total of 1,305,553 people were eligible to vote, according to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.

• Live - votes being counted across Northern Ireland

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With 200 councillors elected, nearly half of the seats were filled by 2100 on Friday

Sinn Féin has made breakthroughs with its first councillors elected in Lisburn City and Ballymena. In Foyle, the party appears to have recovered ground lost at the last election. Party vice-president Michelle O'Neill has described it as a very positive day.

The DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said this election was always about holding ground but said that it was time to stop splitting the Unionist vote.

The Alliance Party became the third biggest at the NI Assembly election last May and so far it seems on track to replicate that in these council elections. The party has taken its first ever council seats in Ballyclare, Fermanagh and Limavady.

It will be hoping to increase its share of the vote West of the Bann but, while the party has made gains, it has also had a key loss in Londonderry.

The SDLP hopes to retain its 59 seats from the 2019 elections, but is under pressure from Sinn Féin.

The Ulster Unionist Party is also facing a battle to hold its ground but its leader Doug Beattie said Unionism was likely to take a hit across the board.

It has not been a good day for the Green Party. Their leader in Northern Ireland, Mal O'Hara, has lost his seat on Belfast City Council. Mr O'Hara became party leader last August after Clare Bailey lost her seat in the Stormont Assembly elections. The deputy leader of the party, Lesley Veronica, has also failed to get elected.