Northern Ireland heads to the polls for UK General Election

The people of Northern Ireland are heading to the polls on Thursday, July 4 for the UK's General Election.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on May 22 that the United Kingdom would have a General Election on July 4 and dissolved Parliament on May 30.

Northern Ireland has 18 seats - one per constituency - to fill in the British House of Commons. There are 136 candidates - an increase from the 102 candidates who ran in 2019 - running in this year's election.

In the previous 2019 General Election, eight DUP MPs, seven Sinn Féin MPs, two SDLP MPs, and one Alliance MP won seats in the House of Commons. (Sinn Féin, however, abstains from taking their seats in British Parliament.)

This year, Alliance and SDLP are each running 18 candidates, UUP is running 17, the DUP is running 16, Sinn Féin and TUV are each running 14, the Green Party Northern Ireland is running 11, Aontú is running 10, and People Before Profit is running three.

There are additionally nine independent candidates, one Conservative and Unionist Party candidate, and one Cross-Community Labour Alternative.

Polls open at 7 am local time in Northern Ireland on Thursday. The election is 'first past the post,' which means voters vote for the one candidate they want to see elected, and the candidate with the most votes wins.

As the BBC notes, the number of registered voters in Northern Ireland is the largest it has ever been for a general election - 1,363,961.

To be eligible to vote, a person must be listed on the electoral register, be at least 18 years old as of July 4, and be British, Irish, and qualifying Commonwealth citizens. ("Qualifying Commonwealth citizen" means that the applicant must have leave to remain in the United Kingdom or not require such leave, i.e. they must be in the UK legally.)

After polls close at 10 pm on Thursday, counting will begin at three venues - one in Belfast, one in Craigavon, and one in Magherafelt - through the night.

The first results in Northern Ireland are estimated to arrive at about 2 am on Friday, with final results estimated to be out around 5:30 am, though close elections could delay the results.

Interested to see who's running where? Read on to see which parties are running candidates in each of Northern Ireland's 18 constituencies for the 2024 General Election:

Belfast East

Alliance Party: Naomi Long
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Gavin Robinson
Green Party Northern Ireland: Brian Smyth
Independent: Ryan North
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Séamas de Faoite
TUV - No Sea Border: John Ross
Ulster Unionist Party: Ryan Warren

Belfast North

Alliance Party: Nuala McAllister
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.:Phillip Brett
Green Party Northern Ireland: Mal O’Hara
People Before Profit: Fiona Ferguson
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Carl WHYTE
Sinn Féin: John Finucane
TUV - No Sea Border: David Clarke

Belfast South and Mid Down

Alliance Party: Kate Nicholl
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Tracy Kelly
Green Party Northern Ireland: Áine Groogan
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Claire Hanna
TUV - No Sea Border: Dan Boucher
Ulster Unionist Party: Michael Henderson

Belfast West

Alliance Party: Eóin Millar
Aontú For Life, Unity, Economic Justice: Gerard Herdman
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Frank McCoubrey
Green Party Northern Ireland: Ash Jones
Independent: Tony Mallon
People Before Profit: Gerry Carroll
Sdlp (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Paul Doherty
Sinn Féin: Paul Maskey
TUV - No Sea Border: Ann McClure
Ulster Unionist Party: Ben Sharkey

East Antrim

Alliance: Danny Donnelly
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Sammy Wilson
Green Party Northern Ireland: Mark Francis Bailey
Sdlp (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Margaret Anne McKillop
Sinn Féin: Oliver McMullan
TUV - No Sea Border: Matthew Warwick
Ulster Unionist Party: John Stewart

East Derry / Londonderry

Alliance Party: Richard John Stewart
Aontú For Life, Unity, Economic Justice: Gemma Brolly
Conservative And Unionist Party: Claire Louise Scull
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Gregory Campbell
Green Party Northern Ireland: Jen McCahon
Sdlp (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Cara Hunter
Sinn Féin: Kathleen McGurk
TUV - No Sea Border: Allister Kyle
Ulster Unionist Party: Glen Alexander Miller

Fermanagh and South Tyrone

Alliance: Eddie Roofe
Aontú For Life, Unity, Economic Justice: Carl Duffy
Cross-Community Labour Alternative: Gerry Cullen
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Paul Patrick Blake
Sinn Féin: Pat Cullen
Ulster Unionist Party: Diana Maureen Armstrong

Foyle

Alliance: Rachael Louise Ferguson
Aontú For Life, Unity, Economic Justice: John Boyle
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Gary Middleton
Independent: Anne McCloskey
People Before Profit: Shaun Harkin
Sdlp (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Colum Eastwood
Sinn Féin: Sandra Duffy
Ulster Unionist Party: Janice Melissa Montgomery

Lagan Valley

Alliance Party: Sorcha-Lucy Eastwood
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Jonathan Buckley
Green Party Northern Ireland: Patricia Denvir
Sdlp (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Simon Lee
TUV - No Sea Border: Lorna Smyth
Ulster Unionist Party: Robbie Butler

Mid Ulster

Alliance Party: Padraic Farrell
Aontú For Life, Unity, Economic Justice: Alixandra Halliday
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Keith Alexander Buchanan
Independent: John Kelly
Sdlp (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Denise Johnston
Sinn Féin: Cathal Sean Mallaghan
TUV - No Sea Border: Glenn Keith Moore
Ulster Unionist Party: Jay Basra

Newry and Armagh

Alliance Party: Helena Mary Young
Aontú For Life, Unity, Economic Justice: Liam Reichenberg
Conservative And Unionist Party: Samantha Rayner
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Gareth Wilson
Sdlp (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Pete Byrne
Sinn Féin: Dáire Hughes
TUV - No Sea Border: Keith Ratcliffe
Ulster Unionist Party: Sam Nicholson

North Antrim

Alliance Party: Sian Mulholland
Aontú For Life, Unity, Economic Justice: Ráichéal Mhic Niocaill
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Ian Richard Kyle Paisley
Independent: Tristan Morrow
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Helen Maher
Sinn Féin: Philip McGuigan
TUV - No Sea Border: Jim Allister
Ulster Unionist Party: Jackson Minford

North Down

Alliance Party: Stephen Anthony Farry
Green Party Northern Ireland: Barry Mckee
Independent: Chris Carter
Independent: Alex Easton
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Deirdre Vaughan
Ulster Unionist Party: Tim Collins

South Antrim

Alliance: John Blair
Aontú For Life, Unity, Economic Justice: Siobhan McErlean
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Paul Girvan
Green Party Northern Ireland: Lesley Veronica
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Roisin Lynch
Sinn Féin: Declan Kearney
TUV - No Sea Border: Mel Lucas
Ulster Unionist Party: Robin Swann

South Down

Alliance: Andrew McMurray
Aontú For Life, Unity, Economic Justice: Rosemary McGlone
Conservative And Unionist Party: Hannah Westropp
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Diane Forsythe
Green Party Northern Ireland: Declan Paul Walsh
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Colin Paul McGrath
Sinn Féin: Chris Hazzard
TUV - No Sea Border: Jim Wells
Ulster Unionist Party: Michael O'Loan

Strangford

Alliance Party: Michelle Guy
Conservative And Unionist Party: Barry Hetherington
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Jim Shannon
Green Party Northern Ireland: Alexandra Braidner
Independent: Gareth Burns
Independent: Garreth Falls
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Will Polland
Sinn Féin: Noel Sands
TUV - No Sea Border: Ron McDowell
Ulster Unionist Party: Richard Smart

Upper Bann

Alliance Party: Eóin Tennyson
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Carla Lockhart
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Malachy Quinn
Sinn Féin: Catherine Nelson
Ulster Unionist Party: Kate Evans

West Tyrone

Alliance Party: Stephen Donnelly
Aontú For Life, Unity, Economic Justice: Leza Marie Houston
Conservative And Unionist Party: Stephen Gerard Lynch
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.: Tom Buchanan
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party): Daniel McCrossan
Sinn Féin: Órfhlaith Begley
TUV - No Sea Border: Stevan Patterson
Ulster Unionist Party: Matthew Bell