Election quotes

The No people have never given their alternative, but they are in extreme danger of undermining completely the rights of the …

The No people have never given their alternative, but they are in extreme danger of undermining completely the rights of the unionist people as a whole if they try to wreck this whole process. If they are, they are demonstrating that total fascism would be working in Northern Ireland, because 72 per cent of the people voted for this agreement. The whole world will see them as fascists if they try to wreck this agreement. - John Hume

Dublin is sick, Mr Tony Blair is sick and the sickest man of all is David Trimble. He is sickened unto death because today the people of Northern Ireland wrote the obituary notice of Trimbleism. I believe it is the end of his leadership of anything in Northern Ireland. - Ian Paisley

Well, I suppose Mr Paisley is entitled to a little rhetoric at this stage. He has very little else. - Seamus Mallon

Anything in the Assembly that is likely to lead us closer to the Republic of Ireland we will block, we will vote against and we will endeavour to stop. - Gregory Campbell, of the DUP after his election in East Londonderry

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Well, I think Ken Maginnis, who was the director of our election campaign, should hold his head in shame today. He has presided over one of the biggest electoral disasters for the Ulster Unionist Party in recent years. - Jeffrey Donaldson, UUP anti- agreement MP

He gloated over the difficulties he and others like him created in the party and I am sad, rather than angry, about what has happened. - Ken Maginnis on Jeffrey Donaldson

I don't want to continue this conflict between Jeffrey and myself. We're very much on different sides as we see the future of Northern Ireland. I believe that we cannot stick to anything that smacks of narrowness or sectarianism in Northern Ireland. - Mr Maginnis again

I don't want to leave the UUP. I want to play a constructive role. That's why I wanted to stand for the Assembly. - Jeffrey Donaldson

I think there is going to be a realignment of unionism. It has to be for us to fight for the union and to safeguard the union. - Iris Robinson, of the DUP

We are going to work the Assembly for the benefit of the union and the unionist people. - Her husband Peter Robinson

Our party, the UK Unionist Party and other unionists will be joining together to destroy the pan-nationalist front. - Ian Paisley

There are problems and clearly those problems have had an effect on this election, but I think we'll leave the post-mortems until everything is complete. - David Trimble

People have awakened to see this is a pannationalist agreement that has to be brought to a standstill. It is what we intend to do to save the Union. - Ian Paisley

I am encouraged by the fact that the political giants of the referendum, Mr Taylor and Mr Trimble, are in some sort of disarray. - Robert McCartney

There are going to be changes. - Gerry Adams

I'm sure it will be fun. - David Ervine, of the Progressive Unionist Party, on what it will be like in the Assembly

I got too many votes. - Gerry Adams after he topped the poll in West Belfast, admitting that the Sinn Fein vote management had broken down slightly

They're computerised to the hilt now. We don't have that kind of money. - SDLP supporter at the Omagh counts, referring to the Sinn Fein election machine

It's `chickens are coming home to roost time' for Tony Blair. - William McCrea, of the DUP