Sinn Féin continued to hold a dominant position over the West Tyrone region after its three returning MLAs were all elected in the constituency during the count in Magherafelt on Friday.
There wasn’t much change all around as Tom Buchanan from the DUP and Daniel McCrossan from the SDLP joined Maolíosa McHugh, Declan McAleer and Nicola Brogan as the elected representatives in the constituency.
Nicola Brogan was the first to pass the quota of 7,666 in the first round, with a first preference vote of 8,626.
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Tom Buchanan of the DUP, Maolíosa McHugh of Sinn Féin and Daniel McCrossan of the SDLP were elected after subsequent counts on Saturday following six rounds.
That just left the final seat which was filled by Declan McAleer, who polled 6,343 first preferences and was elected on the 6th count as well after only Trevor Clarke from the TUV was left and had less votes.
With a turnout of 66.9% West Tyrone once again was well above average compared to the Northern Ireland average, and Sinn Féin will be delighted to hold on to another of its three seat constituencies.
There had been some concerns around how co-opted MLAs during the last term Brogan and McHugh would fare in facing the electorate for the first time in a Stormont election, but they were the top two in terms of first preferences.
Buchanan of the DUP, who topped the poll in 2017, suffered as the TUV's Clarke polled more than 4,000 first preference votes but managed to retain his seat.
UUP candidate and former Ulster Farmers Union president Ian Marshall, who was catapulted into the constituency for the party despite opposition from local members, got 1,876 first preference votes in another disappointing performance for the party on the day.
Alliance candidate Stephen Donnelly managed to see a significantly increased vote of an increase of 4% of first preferences for the party but he will remain as a councillor for now, the Alliance surge not transferring West of the Bann just yet.
Among the smaller parties and independents, Derry and Strabane independent councillor polled 1,682 votes.
The turnout was strong once again in the constituency, but dropped to 66.9% from 69.9% five years ago.
A strong performance in an election of strong performances for Sinn Féin, who look set to become the largest party at Stormont for the first time.
MLAs elected:
Nicola Brogan Sinn Féin - Stage 1
Tom Buchanan DUP - Stage 6
Maolíosa McHugh Sinn Féin - Stage 6
Daniel McCrossan SDLP - Stage 6
Declan McAleer Sinn Féin - Stage 6
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