top the table. for the first time, a party which is dedicated to taking northern ireland out of the uk is the biggest political force here. it s a huge historic moment for irish nationalism and a massively symbolic shift. sinn fein s vice president, michelle o neill, is in line to become the first minister. no nationalist has ever won the post before. today ushers in a new era, which i believe presents us all with an opportunity to reimagine relationships in this society on the basis of fairness, on the basis of equality, and on the basis of social justice. irrespective of religious, political or social backgrounds, my commitment is to make politics work. cheering another major indication of change is the surge of the party which is neither unionist nor nationalist. alliance has more than doubled its number of seats, moving from fifth place to third in the assembly. its leaders said the breakthrough had come after many years work. people wrote us off and said that there was
the full face veil. today, they decreed that all women must cover their places with a veil in public and they laid out an escalating series of punishments for any woman not complying. the united states has called for northern ireland s leaders to return to power sharing. it follows sinn fein s historic victory in the election to the northern ireland assembly. it is the first time a nationalist party in northern ireland has won the most seats. our correspondent chris page reports, and a warning there is some flash photography. smiles, flashes and cheers, were the sure fire signs of sinn fein s success. cheering the party has retained its 27 seats, and that is enough to top the table. for the first time, a party which is dedicated to taking northern ireland out of the uk is the biggest political force here. it s a huge historic moment for irish nationalism and a massively symbolic shift. sinn fein s vice president, michelle o neill, is in line to become the first minister. no
ireland assembly election. while the counting continues, the leader of the dup conceded this evening that sinn fein will win the vote. a short time ago, sinn fein had 23 assembly members, the democratic unionist party had 22, and the cross community alliance party had 15 seats. 78 of 90 seats have been declared so far. it will be the first time a nationalist party in northern ireland has won the most seats with sinn fein s ultimate goal being for northern ireland to leave the uk and become one country with the republic of ireland. our correspondent chris page reports, and a warning there is some flash photography. it s all over bar the cheering. cheering when the final election result is in sinn fein will be on top. for the first time, a party which is dedicated to taking northern ireland out of the uk is the biggest political force here. it s a huge historic moment for irish nationalism and a massively symbolic shift. sinn fein s vice president michelle o neill is in lin
here who can make the decisions that will unlock the door to stormont is the uk government. that is absolutely clear. meanwhile, the centre ground alliance party surged and has more than doubled its seats since the last election. good evening from belfast. it s been confirmed sinn fein will be the party with most seats it will be the party with most seats was a hive of acti relatively it was a hive of activity until relatively recently, but the count is finished here. there are just a couple of seats left to declare, 88 of the 90 seats have been declared. as a result of that, we know that sinn fein is the party with the most seats in the northern ireland assembly. let s take a look at it. with 27 seats, no other party can now overtake sinn fein, which will be the largest party in assembly and it s the first majority nationalist party. it s the first time a party in favour of uniting ireland has come top in stormont election. let s get into some analysis of this. i m joined
rights in afghanistan under a new attack the taliban order women to wear the full face veil. today they decreed that all women must cover their faces with a veil in public and they laid out an escalating series of punishments for any woman not complying. hello and welcome, if you re watching in the uk or around the world. we start with a landmark result with potentially huge implications for the future of the united kingdom. sinn fein have been confirmed as the party with most seats in the northern ireland assembly. it s a historic step for a group once known as the political wing of the paramilitary group, the ira. sinn fein deputy leader michelle o neill has called it the start of a new era. sinn fein wants to take northern ireland out of the united kingdom and unite it with the irish republic. unionists, including the former largest party, the dup, want to remain part of the uk. our correspondent in belfast, chris page, has this report. it s all over, bar the cheering.