The results of the Northern Ireland Assembly election are in and, for the first time ever, Sinn Féin has won the most seats.

It's the first time ever that a nationalist party has been the largest at Stormont in terms of seats, 101 years after Northern Ireland came into existence.

It edged out the DUP, which is now the second-largest party. Alliance also had a historic result, winning 17 seats to become the third-largest party in the assembly.

So what happens next and what does it mean for the future of devolved government in Northern Ireland and for Northern Ireland itself?

Read more here.

As the counting draws to a close, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis calls for the parties to form a government "as soon as possible".

In a statement he sends his congratulations to all those elected.

"The people of Northern deserve a stable and accountable local government that delivers on the issues that matter most to them," he says.

"The electorate delivered a number of messages on Thursday.

"They were clear that they want a fully functioning devolved government in Northern Ireland, they want the issues around the protocol addressed, and that they want politics to work better".

Image source, Reuters

He says he will meet party leaders over the coming days with a view to restoring Stormont "at the earliest possible moment".

“The government remains committed to the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and will continue to work with the Northern Ireland parties and the Irish government to deliver its vision for reconciliation, equality, respect for rights and parity of esteem," he says.

“Together, we must move forward towards a brighter future - that means delivering for all the people of Northern Ireland.”

Davy Wilson
BBC News NI

A long day in Magherafelt isn't showing any signs of coming to a close.

Only the Foyle constituency remains, where the last two seats in Northern Ireland are yet to be declared.

There’s talk among the candidates and their agents that it could be the morning's wee small hours before the result is known.

The latest stage of counting has just been completed.

No candidates have reached the quota....

The two Sinn Féin candidates who brought the party's total to 27 MLAs were Colm Gildernew and Áine Murphy in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

The DUP's Deborah Erskine was also returned.

It leaves just two candidates to be announced in Foyle.

The MLAs elected in the constituency are:

• Jemma Dolan, Sinn Féin
• Colm Gildernew, Sinn Féin
• Áine Murphy, Sinn Féin
• Tom Elliott, UUP
• Deborah Erskine, DUP

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon sends her congratulations to Michelle O'Neill and Mary Lou McDonald after Sinn Féin's historic result.

She says she "hopes to see the NI government functioning again soon".

Sinn Féin has now won 27 seats, confirming it as the biggest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time.

The SDLP will be glad of another seat after a tough couple of days, with Cara Hunter winning the final spot in East Londonderry.

She won her seat in the 10th round of counting.

The final results for the constituency are:

• Caoimhe Archibald (Sinn Féin)
• Maurice Bradley (DUP)
• Alan Derek Joseph Robinson (DUP)
• Claire Elizabeth Sugden (IND)
• Cara Hunter (SDLP)

After a long count, we finally have an update from Foyle.

Sinn Féin's Ciara Ferguson reached the quota on the eighth count and has been re-elected to the assembly.

This now means the party's two candidates in Foyle have been elected - both having never stood for an assembly election before.

Ms Ferguson will join her running mate, Padraig Delargy, back in Stormont having been co-opted into the seat in 2021.

Former first minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster throws her support behind the newly-elected Diane Forsythe, who will represent South Down.

It has been a bumper couple of days for Alliance, and with the election of Nuala McAllister in North Belfast it means with 17, the party now has more than double the eight seats it won in 2017.

It is the third-largest in Stormont for the first time, with its new MLAs taking it ahead of both the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP.

Image source, Press Association

With the final seats for Belfast North now declared, here's how things look in the constituency:

• Gerry Kelly (Sinn Féin)
• Carál Ní Chuilín (Sinn Féin)
• Phillip Brett (DUP)
• Brian Kingston (DUP)
• Nuala McAllister (Alliance)

SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon has lost her seat in Belfast North to Alliance's Nuala McAllister.

Ms Mallon was first elected to the assembly in 2016, having been a Belfast City councillor since 2010.

After power sharing was restored in 2020, she was appointed infrastructure minister.

She also served as Belfast's lord mayor from 2014 to 2015 - the first female nationalist politician to hold this position.

Hopefully the DUP's Tom Buchanan and SDLP's Daniel McCrossan are now rushing back to the Magherafelt counting centre after winning seats in West Tyrone.

Both packed up and went home after being told they would not be making speeches...

Just one seat to go in East Londonderry, as Sinn Féin's Caoimhe Archibald and independent unionist Claire Sugden both get across the line.

There is a battle for the final seat between Sinn Féin's Kathleen McGurk and the SDLP's Cara Hunter.

The SDLP's Nichola Mallon has lost her seat in North Belfast in another blow for the party.

She is the party's deputy leader and was also minister for infrastructure in the Stormont executive.

Counting continues in Fermanagh and South Tyrone with only two candidates elected so far.

But things are looking good for Sinn Féin's Colm Gildernew, who is said to have reached the quota needed to be elected.

He'll join his party colleague Jemma Dolan and the UUP's Tom Elliott who have won seats in the constituency.

There has been speculation throughout the day that Nichola Mallon will miss out on election in North Belfast.

BBC News NI's Robbie Meredith reports it looks like the DUP's Brian Kingston has taken the fourth seat, but it could be a while yet before the final seat is called.

Alliance's Connie Egan has claimed the fifth and final seat in North Down, meaning two Alliance MLAs will represent the constituency at Stormont.

Ms Egan was first elected to Ards and North Down Council in 2019, topping the polls in Bangor West.

She'll be joining Andrew Muir on the hill, having won the seat from the Green Party's Rachel Woods.

This means that the Green Party now longer has any representatives in the assembly.

The UUP's Alan Chambers was also elected in North Down on the ninth count.

North Down's MLAs are:

• Alex Easton (Independent)
• Andrew Muir (Alliance)
• Stephen Dunne (DUP)
• Connie Egan (Alliance)
• Alan Chambers (UUP)