Jonathan Craig from the DUP has lost his seat in Lagan Valley 

BBC News NI's political correspondent Gareth Gordon said it "would not surprise him" if Alliance Party leader David Ford was "replaced in the near future".

"Naomi Long is the obvious name, she is dynamic," he said.

Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness says the party went into this election, like the other parties, wanting to emerge with the "best possible results". 

"It is clear the electorate have charged Sinn Féin and the DUP to be the lead parties in the assembly," he says.

These elections are pretty intense operations and it's all hands on deck in the BBC News NI TV gallery.

BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson enters the VR world to see how Stormont is shaping up

DUP's Mervyn Storey chats to BBC News NI's Sara Girvin as we still wait for the first candidates to be elected.

A quarter of the seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly have been filled as election counts continue.

All smiles from Alliance leader David Ford after he's was deemed elected in South Antrim.

When asked if he would like a ministerial position, the DUP's Mervyn Storey said: "That is entirely in the hands of my party leader and I will be happy to do whatever Arlene asks me to do."

Constituency age    

Eamonn McCann might come a cropper regarding Stormont's dress code if he gets elected...

People Before Profit's Eamonn McCann is in a buoyant mood and believes he'll be taking a seat in Foyle, reports BBC News NI's Keiron Tourish.

The 73-year-old believes there's deep disillusionment with the established parties and that's why he's polled well. He says he wants to be a thorn in the side of the major parties.

Political commentator Mick Fealty says it is a bit early to use the adjective "apocalyptic" about the DUP.

But he says the "Arlene effect" is "quite profound".

"West Tyrone is really interesting. Can the DUP get two across?" he asks.

So after a frantic afternoon, 37 seats have been declared so far and it's proving a good day for the DUP and Sinn Féin.

Image source, Pacemaker

The DUP have won 19 seats, Sinn Féin have got 11, the Alliance Party have three, UUP have two and the SDLP and People Before Profit have one each. And we still have a caffeine-requiring 73 seats to go....