NI council elections 2023: Restore Stormont Executive now, Sinn Féin urges

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) indispensable instrumentality to power-sharing authorities astatine Stormont, Sinn Féin's vice-president has said arsenic her enactment clinched a 2nd historical predetermination triumph successful 12 months.

Sinn Féin is present the largest successful section authorities arsenic good arsenic the assembly.

It won a full of 144 seats aft Thursday's assembly predetermination - a emergence of 39 connected its 2019 showing.

Michelle O'Neill said the effect showed voters privation Northern Ireland's governing enforcement back.

The power-sharing authorities collapsed past twelvemonth arsenic portion of the DUP protestation against post-Brexit trading rules.

The enactment has besides blocked the functioning of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The wide turnout for the predetermination was 54.7%, up from conscionable nether 52.7% successful 2019.

The DUP, present the 2nd largest enactment successful section government, won 122 seats, the aforesaid arsenic 4 years ago.

The cross-community Alliance Party had a affirmative result, expanding its fig of councillors by 15 to 67.

Having travel 3rd successful past May's assembly election, the gains mean the enactment takes up the aforesaid presumption astatine assembly level.

However, determination were nett losses for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

The leaders of some parties, Doug Beattie and Colum Eastwood, dismissed immoderate proposition they would permission their positions aft the election.

In Belfast, the leaders of some the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and the Green Party successful Northern Ireland mislaid their assembly seats.

Ms O'Neill hailed what she called a "momentous" result, aft her enactment made breakthroughs crossed Northern Ireland, including having its archetypal councillors elected successful Ballymena and Coleraine.

It emerged arsenic the largest enactment successful 4 councils: Mid Ulster; Derry and Strabane; Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon; and Newry, Mourne and Down.

It volition besides person wide power of Fermanagh and Omagh, aft winning 21 retired of 40 seats.

"These results are a affirmative endorsement of Sinn Féin's connection that workers, families and communities request to beryllium supported, and that the blocking of a caller assembly by 1 enactment indispensable end," she said.

"This predetermination was an accidental to nonstop a wide signal."

She said the onus was present connected the British and Irish governments to absorption efforts connected the contiguous restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and called for an urgent gathering of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.

Her enactment workfellow and MP John Finucane told BBC's Sunday Politics that radical voted for the enactment due to the fact that they privation to spot "parties moving together".

"There should beryllium an acceptance that the radical person spoken present doubly wrong the past 12 months, the dependable is getting louder.

"The British and Irish authorities I deliberation request to wage heed and attraction to that dependable and request to present instrumentality enactment to prioritise the restoration of our assembly."

The DUP volition beryllium the largest grouping successful 3 councils: Lisburn and Castlereagh; Mid and East Antrim; and Ards and North Down.

The unionist enactment volition besides person the largest fig of councillors successful Antrim and Newtownabbey and Causeway Coast and Glens councils.

DUP person Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said determination were lessons to larn from the results, which showed voters were fed up with unionist bickering and infighting.

"The DUP has had a bully predetermination but unionism needs to bash better, we request to beryllium winning much seats," helium said.

DUP assembly subordinate Jonathan Buckley told Sunday Politics that voters had backed the enactment and that it had stood up "to get a just and balanced result that tin reconstruct devolution".

He added that a three-way divided successful the unionist ballot - betwixt the DUP, Ulster Unionists and Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) - was "dispiriting the unionist electorate".

"It's the fig 1 contented connected the doors, unionist voters privation to spot unionist parties moving unneurotic for the champion interests of Northern Ireland."

However, Ulster Unionist councillor Philip Smyth said helium believed determination was a pro-union bulk successful Northern Ireland but that radical were not coming retired for to ballot unionist.

"The large question for maine is however does unionism footwear connected from here, we request to beryllium capable to merchantability a affirmative connection and we cannot trust connected the halfway vote," helium told Sunday Politics.

"We request to people younger voters and non-traditional audiences."

Alliance assembly subordinate Eoin Tennyson told the programme it was a "fantastic election" for the enactment but determination was disappointment successful Derry and Strabane wherever they mislaid their lone 2 seats.

Mr Tennyson said the party's ballot successful the country mostly held up but it was the Sinn Féin ballot that "changed the dynamics".

The enactment mostly failed to marque targeted gains westbound of the Bann, but Mr Tennyson said determination were agleam spots specified arsenic successful Enniskillen and Limavady.

Meanwhile, SDLP MP Claire Hanna said it was "a pugnacious predetermination and we knew it was going to be".

Leader Colum Eastwood has travel nether pressure, with erstwhile enactment assembly subordinate Richie McPhillips tweeting it was clip to measurement aside, but Ms Hanna said the enactment was successful the process of modernising.

She said it had adopted a caller program successful September but that the enactment was "turning astir years, perchance decades, of nonaccomplishment to modernise and that requires each hands connected deck".

In a statement, Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris congratulated those elected and said "stable and accountable section authorities is the champion mode of delivering connected the issues" that substance to radical successful Northern Ireland.

"Alongside the caller councils, it remains my anticipation to spot the assembly and enforcement instrumentality to work, arsenic laid retired successful the Good Friday Agreement.

"I stay successful adjacent interaction with parties and volition proceed to bash everything I tin to facilitate the restoration of the executive."

You tin perceive to the BBC's 5 Questions On, wherever Ireland Correspondent Chris Page explains the value of the 2023 assembly election.