European elections 2019: What you need to know

Credit: PA

Voters in Northern Ireland will head to the polls on Thursday May 23 to return three MEPs to the European Parliament.

The seats were previously held by the DUP, Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionists Party.

Unlike the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland’s MEPs are elected by the Single Transferable Vote system. Votes will not be counted until the following Monday 27 May as election rules mean that ballot boxes cannot be opened until voting has finished right across the EU.

In Northern Ireland eleven candidates will battle it out for the three seats.

Credit: UTV

The candidates are Jim Allister (TUV), Martina Anderson (Sinn Féin), Clare Bailey (Green Party), Amandeep Bhogal (Conservative and Unionist Party), Diane Dodds (DUP), Colum Eastwood (SDLP), Robert Hill (UKIP- Unionists for Brexit) Danny Kennedy (Ulster Unionist Party), Naomi Long (Alliance), Neil McCann (Independent) and Jane Morrice (Independent).