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Local Government Elections (NI)
Wednesday 21 May 1997


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Text and Research: Fionnuala McKenna
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Local Government Elections (NI)
Wednesday 21 May 1997

The following is a first draft (v1) of the results of the 1997 District Council (local government) elections held in Northern Ireland on 21 May 1997.

Introduction

The elections on Wednesday 21 May 1997 were held to elect 580 councillors to the 26 District Councils of Northern Ireland. Voting in the election was by Proportional Representation (PR) using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system.

Summary of Results

Electorate:
Total valid vote: 632,197
Spoiled votes: 12,580
Percentage turnout: 54.7%

Party
First Preference Votes
% Valid Poll
No. of Seats
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
176,329
(27.9%)
188
Social Democratic & Labour Party (SDLP)
129,942
(22.6%)
120
Sinn Féin (SF)
107,392
(16.9%)
74
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
100,016
(15.8%)
91
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI)
41,421
(6.6%)
41
Progressive Unionist Party (PUP)
14,415
(2.3%)
7
Ulster Democratic Party (UDP)
7,487
(1.2%)
4
Others
55,126
(8.7%)
55
Total
632,197
 .
580


Details of distribution of seats on the 26 District Councils

Council
UUP
DUP
SDLP
SF

APNI
PUP
UDP
Others
No. Seats
Antrim
9
3
4
1
2
0
0
0
17
Ards
10
5
1
0
5
0
0
2
23
Armagh
10
2
7
3
0
0
0
0
22
Ballymena
11
8
3
0
1
0
0
1
24
Ballymoney
4
6
3
1
0
0
0
2
16
Banbridge
9
3
3
0
0
0
0
2
17
Belfast
13
7
7
13
6
3
1
1
51
Carrickfergus
4
3
0
0
5
0
0
5
17
Castlereagh
5
10
2
0
4
0
0
2
23
Coleraine
10
5
3
0
3
0
0
1
22
Cookstown
4
2
4
5
0
0
0
1
16
Craigavon
11
3
7
2
1
0
0
2
26
Derry
3
4
14
8
0
0
0
1
30
Down
6
2
12
2
0
0
0
1
23
Dungannon
8
3
4
5
0
0
0
2
22
Fermanagh
9
2
4
5
0
0
0
3
23
Larne
6
3
1
0
1
0
0
4
15
Limavady
6
1
7
1
0
0
0
0
15
Lisburn
13
2
2
4
3
1
2
3
30
Magherafelt
3
3
5
5
0
0
0
0
16
Moyle
3
3
3
1
0
0
0
5
15
Newry and Mourne
5
1
12
8
0
0
0
4
30
Newtownabbey
13
2
1
0
3
1
1
4
25
North Down
6
2
0
0
6
2
0
9
25
Omagh
4
3
6
6
1
0
0
1
21
Strabane
3
3
5
4
0
0
0
1
16
Total

188

91

120

74

41

7

4

55

580


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