Sinn Féin is now the largest party in the NI Assembly

Sinn Féin will be happy with this result. Pre-election polling had them expected to lose share of first preference votes compared with 2017; however when all of the votes were counted, the opposite came to fruition. Although the party did not win any additional seats, they will be content to return all of their incumbent MLAs.

The outcome that Sinn Féin is now the largest party in the Assembly also means that they have the right to nominate the First Minister for the first time.

The DUP has been knocked into second place for the first time since before 2003

Although this is the worst election for the DUP in quite some time, it could have been worse. They performed better that pre-election polling would have suggested; however, transfers from TUV voters were crucial in electing many of the marginal DUP wins.

That being said, the DUP will be disappointed that their message to stop Sinn Féin did not resonate sufficiently with Unionist voters.

Alliance had the momentum in this election

Alliance will be very happy with this result as it is the highest number of seats and highest placing for the party ever, and the outcome has shifted the balance of power in the Assembly toward the centre ground.

However, the share of first preference votes they won this time around is lower than what they achieved at both the 2019 European parliamentary elections and 2019 House of Commons elections.

The UUP have fallen to fourth place

The UUP will be disappointed with their failure to capture the fall in the DUP’s vote. They will also be frustrated as pre-election polling suggested an increase in their vote share.

Nevertheless, they may be relieved that they did not lose more of their seats to Alliance.

A disappointing result for the SDLP

Multiple factors contributed to the collapse in SDLP vote and seats. The potential for a Nationalist First Minister from Sinn Féin along with a different approach Alliance offered enticed votes to flow away from the SDLP.

A frustrating outcome for the TUV

Although gaining an additional 5.1 percentage points on their 2017 vote share, the TUV failed to return to Stormont with any additional MLAs. On several occasions, the TUV marginally lost out on the last count.

The primary concern for the party here is the poor transfer performance, as candidates failed to receive sufficient transferred votes from other Unionist candidates.

Consistency for People Before Profit

PBP will be content to return their MLA in Belfast East; however, they will be disappointed that they could not win their Foyle seat back. This is not a bad result for PBP, despite the decreased vote share.

The Green Party has been wiped out

Like the SDLP, the Green Party seem to have been overwhelmed by the increase in votes for the Alliance Party. However unlike the SDLP, in this case, the Greens have been left with no representation in the Assembly.

The new kid on the block

Aontú should be satisfied that they ate into the nationalist vote, but they may be disappointed that they were not in contention for a seat. That being said, it is not a bad result for their first NI Assembly election.