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Polls have closed following a day of voting in the local government elections in the North.<\/p>\nPolls have closed following a day of voting in the local government elections in the North.<\/p>\n
A total of 819 local government election candidates are standing across 11 council areas.<\/p>\n
No indication has yet been given as to how many voters turned out to cast their ballots at 1,463 polling stations across Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
There will be overnight verification of unused ballot papers returned from the polling stations, with councils ready to begin counting on Friday at 8am.<\/p>\n
Counting will continue into Saturday before the final results are issued.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland\u2019s political leaders have cast their votes in their local areas.<\/p>\n
DUP leader Arlene Foster voted in the Co Fermanagh village of Brookeborough while Sinn F\u00e9in vice president Michelle O\u2019Neill voted in Clonoe, Co Tyrone.<\/p>\n
Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann voted in Ballymena, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood voted in Derry and Alliance leader Naomi Long cast her vote in east Belfast.<\/p>\n
Among noteworthy races for seats will be Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff\u2019s efforts to return from the political wilderness.<\/p>\n
He was forced to step aside after offending the families of those shot dead by republicans at the height of the Troubles in Kingsmill, Co Armagh.<\/p>\n
Mr McElduff is running for a place on Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the far west.<\/p>\n
In Newtownabbey, near Belfast, the DUP\u2019s first openly-gay candidate is seeking election.<\/p>\n
Alison Bennington is standing for a party which has repeatedly vetoed same-sex marriage and holds strong Christian values.<\/p>\n
It is the first poll since journalist Lyra McKee, 29, was shot dead by dissident republicans during disturbances in Derry in April.<\/p>\n
Her death prompted revulsion against the group blamed for the killing and a call by a Catholic priest for politicians to redouble efforts to restore devolved power-sharing.<\/p>\n
The Stormont Assembly and ministerial Executive have been suspended since early 2017.<\/p>\n
Former Sinn F\u00e9in deputy first minister Martin McGuinness resigned in a row over the DUP\u2019s handling of a botched green energy scheme.<\/p>\n
Fresh negotiations are due to begin next week following Miss McKee\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
The election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.<\/p>\n