The DUP and Sinn Féin have made significant gains in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections but despite these strong unionist and republican mandates the Rev Ian Paisley was last night still refusing to state whether he would agree to enter a powersharing government with Sinn Féin.
The DUP easily saw off the challenge from unionists opposed to the St Andrews Agreement, while Sinn Féin dismissed the challenge from dissident republican candidates opposed to its stance on policing.
It looked virtually certain last night that the UKUP leader, Robert McCartney, effective leader of the unionist opposition to the St Andrews Agreement, would lose his North Down seat and fail to make any dent in the DUP vote in the five other constituencies in which he stood.
As counting resumes today, attention will turn to efforts by the British and Irish governments to persuade the DUP to enter a Stormont executive with Sinn Féin by the St Andrews deadline of March 26th with DUP leader Dr Paisley as first minister and Sinn Féin chief negotiator Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister.
DUP politicians maintained last night that Sinn Féin must deliver more in terms of its commitment to policing and other issues before the Assembly could be restored.
The two governments insisted throughout the campaign that the Assembly will be dissolved unless there is agreement on a powersharing executive by March 26th.
Although the breakdown of seats in the executive will not be confirmed until the final election results are declared, it appeared last night that the SDLP might have only one seat. The executive will comprise 10 members, plus the first and deputy first ministers.
Several DUP politicians last night focused on recent comments by Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew that if she saw armed dissident republicans she would not report them to the PSNI. They argued that such a stance indicated Sinn Féin did not genuinely support policing.
Dr Paisley said he will meet Northern Secretary Peter Hain today and that he will hold talks with the British prime minister Tony Blair next week.
As well as seeking further commitments from Sinn Féin, the DUP is also demanding a multi-billion pound financial package from the British chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown before it would go into government.
"The people have spoken, and now the British government must listen to those who are pledged to democracy and righteousness," said Dr Paisley, who was returned in North Antrim.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, who was returned early in the count in West Belfast yesterday, and seemed set to see his party take an extra fifth seat in that constituency, however insisted that the DUP had no "veto" on progress and that on March 26th Dr Paisley was faced with a choice of "devolution or dissolution".
"The people in this election except for some elements on the fringes of unionism and some elements on the fringes of republicanism voted overwhelmingly for these institutions to be back in place. The DUP whose mandate I respect also must respect the mandate of the other parties, and politicians have to do what they are mandated to do," Mr Adams said.
The DUP entered the election with 32 seats and appeared on course to end up with 35 seats or more.
Sinn Féin had 24 seats and seemed set to win at least 28. Its big gamble of running Mitchel McLaughlin in South Antrim handsomely paid off, with the former Foyle MLA topping the poll.
Alliance leader David Ford, seen to be under threat from Mr McLaughlin, should also be returned today. Alliance proved one of the unlikely successes of the election. It entered the election with six seats and could win seven.
It was a disastrous election for the Ulster Unionist Party particularly. Its vote slumped from 156,000 to just 103,000, half of what the DUP won. The SDLP, which had reasonable ambitions ahead of the election, saw its vote drop from 117,000 to 105,000.
The early Northern Ireland Assembly election results are "a clear validation" of the St Andrews Agreement, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said.
