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Compared to the 2003 Assembly elections there can be no doubt who the winners are - DUP & SF, and they both have done an excellent job in their strategies.

However, in NI a better guide is usually to measure each major election against the last one, in this case the 2005 Westminster election, and that reveals an interesting development, in that the DUP share of the vote has reduced from 33.7% in '05 to 30.1% in 07. That's actually a larger drop than the UUP vote (17.7% to 14.9%). Taking that as a guide the real winners are SF and Alliance.

But there's another interesting factor to note that should stop SF and DUP being too arrogant. Between them they won 56.3% of the vote but given that the turnout was only 63% it means that only 35% of the elecctorate voted for those 2 parties together. More people didn't vote than voted for them!

Doesn't that reflect the real challenge we face, encouraging many people who have pretty much given up hope? to see that 65% of the electorate didn't vote SF or DUP puts a whole other angle on these results.

This has certainly been a vitriolic campaign and a disappointing day for the centre ground (minor Alliance gains aside).

In a campaign of dirty tricks ranging from the DUP members in Upper Bann being prevented from asking the potential candidates questions in case the issue of St Andrews was raised - to the (now commonplace) removal of election posters, one candidate epitomises the new depths to which politics in Northern Ireland has sunk.

Henry Reilly was an Ulster Unionist councillor in Newry and Mourne, and a long standing party member, when he failed to be selected as the UUP candidate for South Down in late January, he stormed out of the party and joined UKIP, the DUP might have been a more obvious choice for a former Unionist, but of course it was too late by this stage to seek selection as a candidate for the DUP.

Reilly was the only member of UKIP to stand in these elections, a fact made more ludicrous by the fact he'd been a member of the party for only a few days by the time he was seeking election as their MLA. His campaign in Rathfriland was centred around saving the local Fire Station- an admirable cause were it not for the fact that no one (aside from Reilly) has ever suggested that Rathfriland Fire Station is under threat of closure.

I despair at the results of these elections which will surely banish Northern Ireland to years - if not decades of political instability, however the actions of a few selfish and malicious individuals underline the suspicion that perhaps the people of this country cannot be trusted to govern themselves in any case.

The result all round is fairly depressing. The middle ground seems to be disappearing fast. Some Lows from the bbc coverage:

Jim Allister refusing to even look at Bairbre de Brun even though sitting beside her. How are these 2 parties ever going to work together?

Catriona Ruane flannelling desperately on policing.

Ditto Gerry Kelly. People need more than doubletalk at this point.

Paisley shouting down both interviewers and opponents. He really is an ignorant old goat.

The arrest of Gerry McGeough in the parking lot of the count center in Omagh. Was it staged? It surely could have been better planned at least.

High Points:
Likely election of Brian Wilson of the Green Party - even if he is the most inarticulate politician I've ever heard.

Election of Anna Lo. The less of more-of-the-same the better.

Having watched the election results I'm glad I never gave the election my stamp of approval by casting a vote.

Shame on those who voted.

SG

Come, come SG, the surest way to lose the franchise is not to use it. That's not the way libertarian shangri la. If you value the individual freedom universal franchise democracy gives you you should at least have spoilt your vote.

And I'd add one thing to Warren's high points:

The political demise of "Sideshow Bob" McCartney.

Otherwise, I'd agree the result was generally dismal. But no doubt we'll get another chance to do it all again soon (and sooner than we thought).
VS