The district was divided into three electoral areas: Banbridge, Knockiveagh and Dromore, which between them returned 17 members. Elections of the whole council were usually held every four years and were conducted under the proportional representationsingle transferable vote system. Notably, Banbridge District Council was the only council controlled by one party from its creation in 1973 until the year 2000 when the DUP gained a seat in a by-election in Dromore. Following the May 2011 local-government elections, the UUP retook its position from the DUP as the largest party on the council, winning seven of the 17 seats available. This was one of the few gains made by the UUP in either the local or Assembly elections of that year. Six of the 17 councillors elected in 2011 were women. At 56 percent, turnout in the 2011 elections was the lowest it had been since Banbridge Council was formed in 1973. In the civic year 2011–2012 UUP councillors Joan Baird and Carol Black served as the head and deputy head of the council. This was the first time in the history of Banbridge Council that the positions of chairman and vice-chairman had been held by women.
Election results
Elections of the entire council were held every four years. The number of seats won by each party is shown below. An election was due in 2009, but this was delayed until 2011 so as to accommodate the completion of a local-government reform programme aimed at reducing the number of council areas from 26 to 11. The proposed amalgamation was abandoned in 2010, and so the 2011 elections returned members for the original 26 councils.
Party
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2011
UUP
8
8
8
8
9
10
9
7
5
7
DUP
0
3
4
3
2
2
3
5
6
5
SDLP
1
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
SF
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
Alliance
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
1
Other Unionist
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
Independent
3
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
0
Total seats
15
15
15
15
15
17
17
17
17
17
Female councillors
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
7
6
Turnout
71.34
63.62
72.43
67.17
65.78
62.05
57.57
69.60
63.45
56.42
Dromore by-election, 2008
In late 2007 UUP Councillor Tyrone Howe resigned due to work commitments. The resulting by election was the first electoral test for Traditional Unionist Voice. Against expectations, the UUP held the seat.
