Election counts begin in NI
Polling stations across Northern Ireland are now closed with thousands of people having cast their vote in the General Election.
For the first time in the region, counting will now take place through the night and the first results are expected at around 12am.There are 120 counters in each constituency, as opposed to 80 in previous elections.
One hundred and eight candidates are standing in Northern Ireland in 18 constituencies for the first-past-the-post ballot.
Polling stations across Northern Ireland opened at 7am on Thursday morning.
The DUP leader Peter Robinson was flanked by television cameras and photographers as he arrived to cast his vote in Dundonald on Thursday morning.
The Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams was also surrounded by the media as he voted in his West Belfast constituency.
The SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie was up early to vote in Crossgar.
The Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey cast his vote in East Belfast in the afternoon.
Nationally, final opinion polls indicated the UK is heading for a hung parliament which would make the Northern Ireland’s results all the more important.
