As it happened: Sinn Féin becomes biggest party

On the 13th count Gary Middleton of the DUP has been re-elected in Foyle.

It brings to an end more than two days of counting.

Mr Middleton has served as a junior minister in the executive and was first elected for Foyle in 2016, having been co-opted the year before.

Nobody has reached the quota.

We have now moved on to the reallocation of Sinead McLaughlin's surplus.

More than a third of the MLAs elected to the assembly in the 2022 poll are women.

Thirty-two of the 90 MLAs are female, compared with 27 who were elected in 2017.

The previous year, when 108 MLAs were returned to the assembly, 30 women were elected.

The system in Northern Ireland means that there are no by-elections for councils, instead if someone resigns their party can co-opt a replacement.

Anyone elected as an MLA must resign from council, so there are plenty of changes coming.

We now have just one seat left to fill after Sinead McLaughlin of the SDLP is elected in Foyle.

The final seat is a race between Gary Middleton of the DUP and Ryan McCready of the UUP.

American diplomat Richard Haass, who succeeded George Mitchell, as the US special envoy for Northern Ireland has reacted to the election result.

The president of the Council on Foreign Relations' tweet urges DUP to "accept [the] democratic outcome", while highlighting the "impressive outcome" for the Alliance Party.

Mr Haass chaired inter-party talks in Northern Ireland in 2013, at which a range of issues were discussed such as parades, flags and the country's past.

Count 11 has finished in Foyle but no candidate has met the quota.

People Before Profit candidate Shaun Harkin has been eliminated and his second preferences will now be redistributed.

We are inching closer to the final results in Northern Ireland's election.

And while we don't know the outcomes yet, we can already see how people voted when it came to their first preference:

BBCCopyright: BBC

The map shows how Sinn Féin has consolidated its vote, particularly in western areas of Northern Ireland, and also how the Alliance's vote has grown in areas around Belfast.

Because of Northern Ireland's single transferable vote system, these maps only show a tiny proportion of the picture.

If you want know exactly how the system works, and why the counters are still hard at work, you can read our simple explainer here.

Also you can see plenty more charts and graphs on the vote breakdown here.

With the formation of the next Stormont Assembly (mostly) decided, don't forget to tune in to BBC Radio Ulster tomorrow morning to find out what it all means for Northern Ireland.

Chris Buckler will have a roundup of the election in a special hour-long programme going through all the events of the last two days.

That'll be on BBC Radio Ulster on Sunday at 10am.

There was a time in Northern Ireland when Sinn Féin voices were silenced.

Banned from the airwaves by the government to combat IRA propaganda.

The BBC even employed an actor to voice the words of the then Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams.

But this weekend Sinn Féin voices were in high demand as broadcasters scrambled to get them on air.

They all wanted to hear from the one-time political pariahs who are now the political powerbrokers at Stormont.

And pose the question: Does its victory push Northern Ireland closer to a border poll and possibly Irish unity?

Read more here.

The former secretary of state for Northern Ireland has tweeted his congratulations to the three main party leaders, saying they have exceeded expectations "in different ways".

He addressed Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill, the DUP's Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Alliance's Naomi Long, saying that the people of Northern Ireland "have spoken".

Mr Smith also extended his congratulations to TUV leader, Jim Allister.

All eyes are on Foyle now with the last two seats of the election still to be won in this constituency.

At the 10th round of counting, no candidates reached the quota.

SDLP's Brian Tierney was eliminated from the race.

BBCCopyright: BBC

"Voters in Northern Ireland have spoken," tweets the shadow Northern Ireland secretary.

Peter Kyle congratulates Sinn Féin for "earning the right to nominate a new first minister".

"It is healthy for Northern Ireland that parties from either community can nominate a first minister and shows the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is working," he says.

"Unionism will continue to have a strong voice within power sharing and calls for progress on the remaining issues of the protocol have been heard and should not prevent a return to the executive".

After a tumultuous two days there is certainly a lot to unpack and what better way than with a one-hour election special of Sunday Politics?

Mark Carruthers will be joined by the five main parties and the Northern Ireland secretary to discuss the results.

There will also be analysis from our Political Editor Enda McClafferty.

Join them live tomorrow on BBC One Northern Ireland at 10am.

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin has urged political parties to form a new executive to "serve the interests of all the people of Northern Ireland."

Mr Martin congratulated those elected.

He also said it was "incumbent" on parties and elected representatives to deliver on their mandate and nominate a first and deputy first minister.

"Power-sharing and principles of partnership, equality and mutual respect are at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement, through which peace has been secured and progress achieved for almost 25 years," he says.

"A new power-sharing executive is vital for progress and prosperity for all in Northern Ireland."

"As a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the government will continue to work in partnership with the British government and engage with the leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland to seek and support the effective operation of all of the political institutions of the agreement."

PacemakerCopyright: Pacemaker

Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill thanks Scotland's first minister for her well wishes.

"A new era begins," she replies to Nicola Sturgeon.