BBC NI coverage of the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly Elections

Kathleen Carragher, Head of BBC News NI, says: “Throughout this election campaign, we will bring the debate and drama to our audiences on radio, television and BBC News NI Online.

"BBC News NI reporters will be at every count to bring you the results as they come in and audiences will be able to follow the results as they come in on BBC News NI Online.

"We’ll also have political reaction and analysis from the politicians themselves and from commentators. And the audience can, of course, join the debate through phone ins, texting and social media.”

MD

All details correct at time of publication.

Television

The View

In the run up to election day Mark Carruthers will have one to one in-depth interviews with party leaders and he’ll be getting out of the studio for a special outside broadcast of the programme. More details to follow.

Nolan Live: Election Specials

Stephen Nolan will be hosting two special programmes to give viewers the opportunity to make their voice heard on all the big election issues. In these two special programmes Stephen will be joined by some of the politicians who will be looking for votes and will there will be plenty of opportunities for questions and debate from the studio audience. These specials will be broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland on Wednesday 15 and Wednesday 22 February beginning at 10.40pm.

Election 2017 - The Leaders' Debate

In the run-up to polling day, Noel Thompson hosts The Leaders' Debate - in front of a studio audience - with representatives from the DUP, Sinn Féin, SDLP, UUP and the Alliance Party. This will be broadcast on Tuesday 28 February.

BBC Newsline

In the run up to Election Day, BBC Newsline will be offering viewers full coverage of the Assembly Election. The programme will feature special reports from Tara Mills and Mark Simpson as well as getting the views of voters from their doorsteps across Northern Ireland and providing regular election round-ups and profiles on party leaders.

Election 2017

Mark Carruthers and Tara Mills will be on hand as the election counts come through, with live programming starting on BBC One NI at 2.15pm on Friday 3 March and continuing throughout the day.

Mark will be in the studio from BBC Broadcasting House while Tara comes live from the election count at Titanic Exhibition Centre. Both will be joined by politicians and commentators with their predictions and analysis as the results unfold. We will have reporters live at every count centre bringing the audience up-to-the-minute results and all the breaking stories from across the 18 constituencies.

Coverage will run on Friday 3 March from 2.15-6pm, from 7-10pm and from 10.40pm-12midnight, breaking throughout the day for the local and national news. Election 2017 coverage will continue on Saturday 4 March on BBC One NI from 10am-1pm.

Sunday Politics

Mark Carruthers and commentators will be examining the elections on BBC One NI at 11am every Sunday in Sunday Politics in the run up to polling day. After the election, he will be interviewing party leaders and getting expert analysis on the results from the guests of the day.

BBC Radio Ulster

Good Morning Ulster and Evening Extra

As Election Day approaches, Good Morning Ulster, Monday-Friday from 6.30am, will cover all the latest election news, while Evening Extra, Monday-Friday at 5pm, will be looking into the five main parties manifesto launches.

The Nolan Show

Stephen Nolan, Monday-Friday at 9am, will be doing his traditional manifesto crunching – questioning the parties on their election manifesto promises and policy pledges and asking the vital questions that listeners want answers to.

Talkback

From Thursday 2 February (Monday-Friday at 12noon), William Crawley will be interviewing representatives from the DUP, Sinn Féin, Alliance, UUP, SDLP, TUV, Green Party and People Before Profit, and giving listeners the chance to put questions directly to the politicians.

There will also be a Talkback special election outside broadcast on Wednesday 22 February at the Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, with representatives from the main assembly parties.

William Crawley will also be live at the Belfast count centre as the first votes are counted on Friday 3 March from 12noon-3pm. He'll be joined by candidates, commentators and political insiders, and the audience will have their say on the emerging picture at Stormont.

Inside Politics

Inside Politics will feature interviews with party leaders on Fridays from 6pm. These interviews began on Monday 27 January with Mark Devenport asking them about their policies and future plans and will include expert opinion and analysis from political commentators.

All of the interviews will be available to listen to again on the BBC Radio iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast.

Election 2016

From 3-10pm on Friday 3 March, Seamus McKee and Karen Patterson will present live coverage of the results from a team of reporters around Northern Ireland, including Joel Taggart at the Belfast count centre. On Saturday 4 March, William Crawley picks up the baton, joining Karen for the final results and analysis from key players and politicians.

Sunday News

In a two hour-long special on Sunday 5 March from 12noon, Seamus McKee will be bring BBC Radio Ulster listeners all the key stories of the Assembly election and, with a panel of experts, predicts how the results may change politics in Northern Ireland. Sunday News presenter Jayne McCormack will be getting first reaction to the election results from voters.

BBC Radio Foyle

In the run-up to the election on Monday-Friday, BBC Radio Foyle’s Breakfast Show, 7am, and The Mark Patterson Show including The News At One, 1pm, will have special debates on each of the north west’s three constituencies, with in-depth questioning of the candidates and their positions. The Breakfast Show will also profile each local constituency, taking a detailed look at the issues on the ground in all three.

On Friday 3 March, BBC Radio Foyle will also broadcast an Election 2017 special from 3-10pm with live coverage and analysis of the Assembly Elections 2017, as results roll in from count centres across Northern Ireland, with special focus on the north west's three constituencies. Presented by Anna Quigley live at the count centre in Londonderry and Teresa Craig and Will Leitch in the Foyle studios.

BBC News NI Online

BBC News NI’s Campaign Catch-up will offer daily updates from the electoral battleground on our news website and on Good Morning Ulster at 7.40am and Evening Extra at 5.40pm.

On results day, users will be able to follow live feeds of what is happening in their own constituencies, with stage-by-stage results for every seat. Live blogs across all 18 battlegrounds will deliver the latest audio, video and news updates from the count centres.
Also online will be Northern Ireland-wide results, infographics and analysis from BBC News NI’s team of political correspondents and social media updates from every count. BBC News NI Online will also stream audio and video feeds of BBC NI television and radio output to ensure no election action is missed.