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image captionIn the running for party leader - Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Edwin Poots
The vote to elect the next leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) will take place on Friday.
Northern Ireland s Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots and Lagan Valley MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson are bidding to succeed Arlene Foster.
It is the first time in the party s 50-year history that a leadership contest has taken place.
Only three people have ever occupied the role of party leader in the DUP s history: founder Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster.
A secret party ballot will be held at 11:00 BST on Friday. The announcement on the next leader is expected at about 17:00 BST, the party has said.
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Northern Ireland: The contest to elect a new DUP leader is on a knife edge
Both candidates in the race to succeed
Arlene Foster believe they have secured just enough support from the 36-strong electoral college of MPs and Stormont Assembly members.
The entire leadership debate has taken place in secret - with party officers having effectively silenced both men by prohibiting them from doing interviews with the media.
Tim Cairns, a former special adviser to the party, said: In terms of speaking to the media, I think the
By Press Association 2021
DUP Leader Designate Edwin Poots inside DUP Headquarters in Belfast after was elected as the new leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (Handout/PA)
Stormont Agriculture minister Edwin Poots vowed to be the “authentic voice” of unionism as he was elected as the new leader the DUP.
Mr Poots, who recently recovered from cancer surgery, defeated the DUP’s Westminster leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in the battle to replace Arlene Foster, who announced her resignation last month.
The Lagan Valley MLA won by a razor-thin 19 votes to 17 in the poll carried out within the party’s 36-strong electoral college.