Assembly election 2016: DUP's David Hilditch tops poll in East Antrim

The DUP's David Hilditch has said he is 'absolutely delighted' after topping the poll in East Antrim.

By The Newsroom

Published 6th May 2016, 14:22 BST

Updated 6th May 2016, 16:37 BST

The DUP's David Hilditch, centre, has topped the poll in East Antrim

Mr Hilditch was deemed elected after taking 5,906 first preference votes, passing the quota of 4631.

He told the Times: “I’m absolutely delighted from a personal point of view at this stage, but there is a long way to go yet and a lot of twists and turns still to come. I hope that my teammates will be elected in the coming counts.”

The UUP’s Roy Beggs also polled well, taking 3,848 votes at the first stage

The next stage will see the Mr Hilditch’s surplus votes transferred to other candidates.

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