Things beginning to take shape with Michelle Gildernew elected, Phil Flanagan eliminated and the UUP’s Alastair Patterson all but gone.
Our earlier prediction of two DUP, three Sinn Fein and one UUP is holding up, albeit with John Feely rather than Phil Flanagan set to be Sinn Fein’s third MLA.
It’s still all very tight but Rosemary Barton should make it with her running mate eliminated and no other unionists left to benefit from his transfers. As expected Richie McPhillips seems to have simply failed to secure enough transfers beyond the first count.
If things go as expected the outcome of the election will have been a lot more heartening for the unionist bloc than for the nationalist parties, with the Ulster unionists coming in on the coat tails of the DUP who have really capitalised on Arlene Foster’s pulling power. Sinn Fein will be disappointed but can remain convinced that a fourth seat is within their grasp, while clearly the SDLP look further away than ever from regaining their position as credible contenders.
We’ll be back in Omagh tomorrow but as things stand it looks like same again…
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