Vote counting began on Friday (March 3) in Northern Ireland's election, with an online exit poll indicating that turnout in the British-ruled province was higher among Irish nationalist voters than pro-British unionists.
Nationalists who favour a united Ireland and unionists who want Northern Ireland to remain British are jostling for position ahead of talks on Britain's exit from the European Union, which is set to determine the province's political and economic future.
Opinion polls ahead of the election indicated that the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party would lose votes but remain the largest party, followed by the Irish nationalists of Sinn Fein, meaning that they would be in line to form a power-sharing government once again.
An online exit poll by Lucid Talk found that turnout appeared to be 2-3 percentage points higher among nationalist voters compared to the last election a year ago, while unionist turnout was unchanged.
Sinn Fein brought on the election by collapsing the province's government in January over the role of the DUP in a scandal over heating subsidies, demanding that the DUP's first minister, Arlene Foster, step down.
Analysts say Sinn Fein is unlikely to become the largest party for the first time - an outcome that would turn Northern Ireland politics on its head - but a strong showing could help it secure concessions from the DUP in the formation of the next government. The DUP denies wrongdoing in the scandal and says Foster remains its candidate for first minister.
