No one has yet been elected in Fermanagh South Tyrone, after the first stage of counting.
Arlene Foster has once again topped the poll, however her vote share has fallen by 400 on last year and she was the only candidate who did see their vote increase. The DUP leader, who is keeping to herself in a private room and is not speaking to the media, picked up 8,479 votes. She has yet to reach the quota of 8,711.
Michelle Gildernew has also had a strong start, with 7,987 first preference votes. She was followed by party colleague and political newcomer Jemmas Dolan on 7,767.
Maurice Morrow is in for a nervous wait as the transfer of vote begins, as he sits on 7,102 first preferences. Rosemary Barton, who has more than doubled her vote on last year and has 6,060 first preferences, will be hoping to over take him in the transfers.
Sean Lynch has 6,254 first preferences, while the SDLP’s Richie McPhillips is sitting on 5,134. He will be in for a tough battle to retain his Assembly seat, with such a strong performance from the UUP.
While Alliance have also increased their vote, Noreen Campbell, who picked up 1,437 first preferences, has been eliminated. Four more candidates have also been dropped from the race: Cross-community Labour’s Donal O’Cofaigh (643); Green Party’s Tanya Jones (550); TUV’s Alex Elliott (780); and Conservative’s Richard Dunn (70).
It now all comes down to transfers, with the second stage counting underway.
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