Peter Robinson (DUP) & Martin McGuinness (SF) Peter Robinson (DUP) & Martin McGuinness (SF) The 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday, 5 May, following the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly at midnight on 24 March 2011.

As in the past, the 2011 election to the Assembly was conducted using the single transferable vote (STV) system of proportional representation.

The 108 seats were contested in 18 constituencies by 218 candidates, including 15 independents and the nominees of 14 separate political parties.

The sole change to the Northern Ireland Executive was that the UUP lost a ministerial post to the Alliance.

Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party both continued to make gains, although the DUP vote share was slightly down.

The Ulster Unionist vote collapsed in Belfast, where it was eclipsed by the Alliance Party's, and in a number of other constituencies considered safe such as North Down.

Traditional Unionist Voice secured a single seat in North Antrim; its vote share was down from the May 2010 elections to the UK Parliament.

[4][5] Ten seats on the Northern Ireland Executive were filled by the new Assembly on 16 May according to party strength under the d'Hondt method of proportional representation.

[9][10][11] The first column indicates the party of the Member of the House of Commons (MP) returned by the corresponding parliamentary constituency in the general election of 6 May 2010 (under the "first past the post" method).

Several of the 14 members who retired early from the Northern Ireland Assembly did so either after being elected or re-elected to the British House of Commons on 6 May 2010 (as MPs), or else in anticipation of being elected to the Dáil Éireann (lower house of the Irish parliament) on 25 February 2011 (as a TD).

David McClarty, originally elected from East Londonderry as an Ulster Unionist, although not re-nominated by the UUP in 2011, stood successfully for re-election as an independent.

The sitting Speaker, in this instance William Hay (DUP, Foyle), must revert to his or her party colours and campaign for a seat on its manifesto.

[5] European Union (EU) and Commonwealth citizens aged 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote.

[20] In the days following the 2011 Assembly election concerns were raised by politicians and others about the time it took for ballots to be verified and counted.