The people of Northern Ireland elect a new assembly as part of the Good Friday Agreement.
The new body which will meet at Castle Buildings Stormont next week to set up an executive and will initiate plans for operating cross-border bodies. There are 1,200 polling stations open until 10 pm. Turnout is not likely to be as high as was earlier predicted and will probably be around 65 per cent.
This election will decide the makeup of an assembly giving politicians instead of British ministers in the North limited decision making powers for the first time since 1974.
In Newtownhamilton the polling station had to be moved from the community centre, which was destroyed by an INLA bomb, to a local school.
Paul Murphy the minister responsible for political development at the Northern Ireland Office believes that people are determined to see an assembly elected in the hope of a brighter future. Opposition to the Stormont Agreement are aiming to reach a target of over 30 seats. Parties backing the agreement hope to end up with a working majority. David Trimble of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) says that exit polls at the time of the referendum indicate a strong endorsement for the Stormont Agreement. Rev Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who was opposed to the Good Friday Agreement believes the real issues will be revealed in the vote today.
Television coverage of the World Cup and the wet weather are believed to have contributed to a lower voter turnout.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 25 June 1998. The reporter is Michael Fisher.
