1973 Belfast City Council election

1973 Belfast City Council election

30 May 1973 1977 →
All 51 seats to Belfast City Council 26 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	62.54%
First party Second party Third party   Party UUP Alliance SDLP Seats won 25 8 7   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party NI Labour Republican Clubs Democratic Unionist Party Seats won 2 2 2   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   Party Ind. Unionist United Loyalist Loyalist Coalition Seats won 2 2 1
Map showing results by electoral area.
Council control before election Irish Unionist Council control after election No overall control

Elections to Belfast City Council were held on 30 May 1973 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used eight district electoral areas to elect a total of 51 councillors.

The elections were the first following the reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland, brought about by the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 & Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972, which replaced the previous FPTP ward system with a new system of proportional representation using multi-member district electoral areas.

The Ulster Unionist Party maintained its position as the largest party, winning just short of a majority, and William Christie continued as Lord Mayor.