People can register online to vote from Monday, the chief electoral officer in Northern Ireland has said.

The process takes less than five minutes and involves filling out some personal details, Virginia McVea added.

She said: “This innovative new online system will make it even easier for people to register to vote.

“For anyone who can’t or does not want to register to vote digitally, the paper registration form is still available.”

Up to now, paper forms had to be filled out and returned to a local election office.

Electronic registration was introduced in England, Scotland and Wales in 2014.

The registration link is https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote