About 130,000 people may be wiped from the electoral register in Northern Ireland following the introduction of new measures designed to combat vote fraud.

It is understood the figures, due to be published on Monday, will show the greatest fall is in west Belfast.

The new Electoral Fraud Act requires voters to provide personal identification including a national insurance number and a signature.

For the first time potential voters were required to fill in individual forms rather than be registered by the heads of households.

The measures are aimed at tackling electoral fraud

An extensive registration campaign was launched in September and forms were sent to more than a million people who were previously registered to vote.

It is understood the new register, due to be released on Monday, will show an overall fall of 11%.

Seamus Magee of the Electoral Commission said there could be a number of reasons for the drop.

"Some people simply didn't return the form and some people who were maybe on the register last year no longer live there.

"We intend to involve ourselves in a detailed analysis of those figures," he said.

The greatest fall of 19% is in west Belfast with the smallest drop being in constituencies in the west of the province.

Public confidence

The commission stressed that a system of rolling registration means it is still not too late for anyone to put their name forward.

The Electoral Commission is an independent body established by the government to ensure public confidence and participation in the democratic process within the United Kingdom.

In the past, just one form was given out to each household.

Now every individual voter will have to fill out a form, supply their National Insurance number, date of birth and sign it personally.

A helpline and website have also been set up to help voters understand the new system.

The campaign comprises five steps to enable the electorate to secure their vote.

People registering to vote will be asked to complete and sign an individual registration form and will be asked to give their national insurance number and date of birth.

To vote at the next election they will have to present photographic identification in the polling station.

Acceptable ID will include a British or Irish passport, a Northern Ireland driving licence, or a Translink Senior Smartpass.