SINN Féin's Máirtín Ó Muilleoir has been re-elected to the Stormont assembly after topping the poll in South Belfast.
The former finance minister was elected on the first count after receiving 7,610 first-preference votes – more than 400 votes above the quota of 7,176.
It's an increase of more than 2,000 on his vote last year. The former Belfast lord mayor was also the first South Belfast candidate elected in 2016, but only on the fifth count.
In a trend seen across the north, election turnout surged in South Belfast from 54.25 per cent last year to 63.96 per cent.
The SDLP's Claire Hanna received the second largest number of first-preferences with 6,559, while Alliance's Paula Bradshaw came third with 5,595.
The DUP's Christopher Stalford polled 4,529 followed by party colleague Emma Little Pengelly on 4,446.
Clare Bailey of the Green Party achieved 4,247 while Ulster Unionist candidate Michael Henderson notched up 3,863 first-preference votes.
It means the battle for the final seat looks likely to be between the Greens and the DUP – with the final result only expected to become clear overnight or on Saturday.
Alliance's Emmet McDonough-Brown polled 2,053 while the SDLP's Naomh Gallagher achieved 1,794.
People Before Profit's Pádraigín Mervyn received 760 votes, TUV's John Hiddleston 703, Cross Community Labour Alternative's Sean Burns 531, the Conservative Party's George Jabbour 200 and the Workers Party candidate Lily Kerr 163.