NI Elections: DUP comes out on top, smaller parties enjoy surge

There’s been a surge in support for smaller parties in Northern Ireland’s local elections.
All 462 seats have now been filled, with the DUP coming out on top, despite securing less seats than in the last election.
Sinn Fein, which saw its vote drop slightly, came in second.
Northern Ireland’s local election has seen the DUP once again take top spot with the most votes.
In the end, they secured 122 seats, 17 more than Sinn Fein who came in second on 105 seats.
The big winner was the Alliance Party, who gained 21 seats compared with the 2014 election to finish on 53.
There was mixed results for the SDLP with 59 – they dropped seats but polled strongly in places, while the UUP lost ground, dropping 13 seats to finish with 75.
Independents and smaller parties such as the Greens and People Before Profit also performed well while Peadar Tóibín’s newly formed Aontú party secured 1 seat.