Strangford: "This is a DUP constituency now, and let no one be in any doubt," declared a jubilant Ms Iris Robinson last night when she topped the poll in Strangford.
She clenched her fist in the air as it emerged that her two running mates polled just a few hundred first preference votes short of the quota. Without two hours, those two candidates, Mr Jim Shannon and Mr George Ennis, were also elected.
The Ulster Unionist Party brought home one seat in the first count when Lord Kilclooney, formerly Mr John Taylor, was elected with 336 votes to spare.
When the count closed last night, the focus was on the fourth seat, with the Ulster Unionist Party's Mr David McNarry ahead in the race, but his colleague, Mr Bob Little, also in the running and hoping to benefit from transfers. However, the SDLP's Mr Joe Boyle was putting in a strong performance in fifth place, having put in an impressive performance in this predominantly unionist constituency.
He was closely followed by Mr Kieran McCarthy, who was fighting to retain his seat for the Alliance Party.
Mr McCarthy arrived at the count centre yesterday fresh from the trauma of having a brick thrown through the window of his home the previous night. He was out canvassing when the brick, wrapped in a Sinn Féin poster, came through his living room window.
His wife, Kathleen, had just left the room moments earlier. She later fainted from the shock.
Mr Carthy said he couldn't understand why this had happened as there had been "no hint whatsoever" of any trouble during the election campaign.
"It is totally out of character with this area. I can only condemn whoever was responsible."
However, yesterday was a day for the DUP, with a jubilant Ms Robinson receiving 8,548 first preferences - 3,226 votes over the quota.
She said the party "stuck rigidly" to its much-publicised vote-management plan, and it was evident in the results.
"Obviously the days of massive landslides as a number one candidate are a thing of the past.
"We have to vote-manage to get the numbers in. We did exceedingly well here, and we are now enjoying the fruits of our labour."
It was a bad day for Mr Cedric Wilson of the Northern Ireland Unionist Party. He looked set to lose his seat having received just 576 votes.
He had been conceding defeat since early yesterday, but said it did not signal an end to his public role.
Like other constituencies, turnout was down in Strangford. It fell from 61.59 per cent in the 1998 Assembly Election to 57.06 per cent.
