Stormont as it Happened: 12 May 2016

Summary

MLAs re-appointed the DUP's Arlene Foster as First Minister and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin as deputy First Minister.
MLAs signed the roll of membership.
They also elected the speaker and deputy speakers, as well as the Business Committee.

Live Reporting

Robin Sheeran and Brooke Allen

The Assembly is called to orderpublished at 12:04 British Summer Time 12 May 2016
Clerk to the Assembly Trevor Reaney calls the MLAs to order.
Speaker Mitchel McLaughlin then congratulates the members on their election, and introduces the signing of the roll of membership.
MLAs gather in the chamberpublished at 12:01 British Summer Time 12 May 2016
There is a "first day of school" atmosphere as members gather in the chamber ahead of today's proceedings.
Today's order of businesspublished at 11:26 British Summer Time 12 May 2016
Coming up today...
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Today's Proceedingspublished at 10:56 British Summer Time 12 May 2016
BBC NI's political editor Mark Devenport outlines proceedings
Mark Devenport
BBC News NI Political Editor
Image source, Press Eye
Image caption,
DUP leader Arlene Foster awaits reappointment as first minister
The first substantive item will be signing the role of membership.
MLAs not only have to sign into the book but they also have to designate as unionist, nationalist or other.
Then it gets going again after lunch at around 14:30 with the election of the speaker.
All the speculation is that it will be DUP MLA Robin Newton, who was the principal deputy speaker in the outgoing assembly.
Behind him, there will probably be a Sinn Féin principal deputy speaker and probably then, SDLP and UUP deputy speakers, put in place behind that.
Around tea-time, the appointment of the first minister and deputy first minister will happen.
Technically they remained in their posts but they have to be reappointed.
They will then appoint a business committee and then conclude for the day.
Newton tipped to be new Speakerpublished at 10:34 British Summer Time 12 May 2016
Image caption,
Robin Newton
One of the items on the agenda at Stormont today will be the election of a new speaker to replace Sinn Féin's Mitchel McLaughlin.
"All the speculation is that it will be DUP MLA Robin Newton, who was the principal deputy speaker in the outgoing assembly," BBC News NI's political editor Mark Devenport says.
Good Morningpublished at 10:31 British Summer Time 12 May 2016
Image source, Press Eye
Image caption,
Parliament Buildings, Stormont
Welcome to our coverage of the new mandate at Stormont.
The Northern Ireland Assembly will meet for the first time today since the elections on 5 May.
Business will begin at 12 noon when all 108 MLAs will meet to sign the roll of membership, with 29 newly-elected members doing so for the first time.
It is expected that the assembly will re-appoint Arlene Foster as first minister and Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister.
They will also elect a new speaker, replacing Mitchel McLaughlin who announced his retirement before the election.