As we transitioned from Thursday evening into the early hours of Friday, unexpected political circumstances continued to unfold. Numerous seats projected to be secure, such as Lagan Valley and North Down, faced unexpected defeats. Marginally contested seats, like South Antrim, were secured by a surprisingly decisive victory. And curious situations arose when seats perceived as uncontestable, like North Antrim, suddenly became a battle to watch.
Speculations multiplied within the election count centres and finally, slightly past 4:30am, the announcement started trickling in. Jim Allister, the head of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), had seized North Antrim by a mere 400 votes.
As the 6am mark neared, Allister informed the BBC of North Antrim’s recount; as everyone awaited the outcome, the importance of this result was unquestionable. Mark Carruthers, the presenter of BBC’s election results programme, mentioned its momentous significance – “It’s more than seismic.”
The most dependable DUP seat in Northern Ireland was hanging by a thread, the same seat that Ian Paisley won by 12,721 votes in 2019.
The pre-election distribution of the 18 Northern constituencies was eight for DUP, seven for Sinn Féin, two for SDLP, and one for Alliance. At 6am on Friday, two results were yet to be announced, and the current tally was seven for Sinn Féin, four for DUP, two for SDLP, one for Alliance, one for Ulster Unionist, and one for an independent unionist.
The central theme of this election was the DUP’s downturn, a bad night irrespective of the results of the remaining seats. A flicker of hope arrived when Belfast East was retained by party leader Gavin Robinson, widely speculated as the fiercest contest of this election. However, seats previously occupied by Jeffrey Donaldson, like Lagan Valley, and South Antrim were lost. Even their held seats like East Antrim were narrowly won by approximately 1,300 votes, a drastic drop from a majority of almost 7,000.
Robinson hinted at possible forthcoming debates and discussions in his victory speech, particularly the consequences of a divided unionist vote. The implications of this election and the potential ascendancy of TUV leader Jim Allister in North Antrim create much to ponder for unionism in the near future.
This was indeed a triumphant day for both TUV and UUP, with the latter marking a stunning victory in South Antrim, getting back on track on the score table. Sinn Féin also celebrated a successful day, managing to retain its seven seats. Even though there were early whispers of losing Fermanagh South Tyrone to the candidate from UUP, Sinn Féin claimed it with a substantial lead of over 4,000 votes. This victory can be compared to a landslide, especially considering their previous marginal win by just 57 votes.
This marked a remarkable triple feat for Sinn Féin; according to Jon Tonge, a politics professor at the University of Liverpool. For the first time ever in Northern Ireland’s history, a nationalist party such as Sinn Féin leads at all three government levels – the Assembly, the council, and now Westminster.
Mission accomplished for Sinn Féin; this much-needed victory will revitalise the party after facing significant setbacks in recent elections in the southern part of Ireland. Likewise, the SDLP also succeeded in maintaining its two seats, even though party leader Colum Eastwood saw a substantial reduction in majority in Foyle.
Alliance, however, experienced mixed fortunes. While it succeeded in Lagan Valley, it didn’t manage to keep North Down. The stagnation is a let down for the party whose momentum had been growing.