Voting has got underway to elect 108 new members to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont.
The spotlight is on the Derry constituency of Foyle where Sinn Fein are hoping to take three of the six seats for the first time – at the expense of the SDLP.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood and his party colleague, Mark H Durkan, are being tipped to be elected as is Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness and the DUP’s Gary Middleton – leaving Sinn Fein’s Raymond McCartney and Maeve McLaughlin battling it out with the SDLP’s Gerard Diver for the final two seats.
People Before Profit candidate, well-known Derry civil and human rights campaigner Eamonn McCann, and first-time candidate, Independent Dr Anne McCloskey are expected to poll well.
Sixteen candidates will contest the Foyle constituency.
They are:
Kathleen Bradley (Independent)
Maurice Devenney (Independent)
Gerard Diver (SDLP)
Alan Dunlop (Conservatives)
Mark H Durkan (SDLP)
Colum Eastwood (SDLP)
Mary Hassan (Green Party)
Julia Kee (UUP)
John Lindsay (Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol)
Eamonn McCann (People Before Profit Alliance)
Raymond McCartney (Sinn Fein)
Chris McCaw (Alliance Party)
Anne McCloskey (Independent)
Martin McGuinness (Sinn Fein)
Maeve McLaughlin (Sinn Fein)
Gary Middleton (DUP)
In the East Derry constituency, 17 candidates will battle it out for six seats.
They are:
Caoimhe Archibald (Sinn Fein)
Jordan Armstrong (TUV)
Yvonne Boyle (Alliance)
Maurice Bradley (DUP)
Aaron Callan (UUP)
Stuart Canning (NI Conservatives)
Victor Christie (Independent)
Amber Hamill (Green NI)
David Harding (NI Conservatives)
William McCandless (UUP)
Adrian McQuillan (DUP)
Gerry Mullan (SDLP)
Cathal Ó hOisín (Sinn Fein)
Steven Parkhill (UKIP)
George Robinson (DUP)
Claire Sugden (Independent Unionist)
Russell Watton (PUP)
In the 2011 Assembly election, the DUP won three seats with the SDLP, Sinn Fein and Independent Unionist winning one each.
Polling stations opened at 7.00am this morning and will close at 10.00pm tonight.
Ballot boxes from both constituencies will be taken to the Foyle Arena at St Columb’s Park in the Waterside area of Derry where they will be held overnight, under tight security, ahead of counting beginning tomorrow morning.
The first results are not expected to be known until late tomorrow afternoon.
The final results are not expected to be known until Saturday afternoon.
If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Derry Now editorial team. Between 9am and 5pm Monday to Sunday please call 028 7129 6600 for Derry City stories or 028 7774 3970 for County Derry stories. Between 5pm and midnight please call or text 07825 711978. Or you can email john.gill@derrynews.net at any time.