Elections for
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
were held in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
on Thursday 5 May 2011, contesting 582 seats in all.
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and
Commonwealth citizens aged 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote. The deadline for voters to register to
vote
Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...
in the elections was midnight on Thursday 14 April 2011. A total of 1,210,009 were eligible to vote, and 55.7% of the electorate turned out.
All voters were required to present one piece of photographic ID in order to cast a vote at the polling station – accepted forms of ID are an
electoral identity card, a
photographic NI or GB driving licence, a
European Union member-state passport, a Translink 60+ SmartPass, a Translink Senior SmartPass, a Translink Blind Person's SmartPass or a Translink War Disabled SmartPass. Voters who didn't have an accepted type of photographic ID had until Friday 22 April 2011 to apply for an electoral identity card from the
Electoral Office.
The elections were originally scheduled to take place in 2009. In 2008,
Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...
Arlene Foster requested that they be postponed until 2011 to allow the implementation of a
proposed reform of local government in Northern Ireland
Reform of local government in Northern Ireland saw the replacement of the twenty-six districts created in 1973 with a smaller number of "super districts". The review process began in 2002, with proposals for either seven or eleven districts made ...
, which would have reduced the number of local councils from 26 to 11. In February 2009, an order was made, postponing the election, and councillors' terms of office were extended until the fourth day after the election day in 2011.
In June 2010, the proposed reforms were abandoned, and it was confirmed that the 2011 elections would be to the existing 26 councils.
Local Elections in 2011 will be held to existing 26 Councils
", Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...
There was also an election to the Northern Ireland Assembly and a referendum on voting reform on the same day. The reforms have since been adopted and the 2014 Northern Ireland local elections were for the 11 new districts.
Results
By council
Councils
Antrim
Ards
Armagh
Ballymena
Ballymoney
Banbridge
Belfast
Carrickfergus
Castlereagh
Coleraine
Cookstown
Craigavon
Derry
Down
Dungannon
Fermanagh
Larne
Limavady
Lisburn
Magherafelt
Moyle
Newry and Mourne
Newtownabbey
North Down
Omagh
Strabane
References
{{United Kingdom local elections, 2011
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...