As the votes continue to be counted in Northern Ireland’s local elections, nearly a third of seats have been filled.
So far, this has been a good day for Sinn Féin with most seats returned, followed by the DUP and then Alliance.
More than 140 councillors out of 462 have been elected.
A total of 1,305,553 people were eligible to vote, according to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin has made breakthroughs with its first councillors elected in Lisburn City, Ballymena and in Foyle, where 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 last Assembly election and so far it seems on track to replicate that in these council elections.
It will be hoping to increase its…
This article was written by and originally published on www.bbc.co.uk