The people of Northern Ireland go to the polls today to elect the suspended Stormont assembly.

The election comes at a critical time in the peace process following rows over IRA decommissioning and a failure to reach agreement on so-called normalisation issues.

All sides have campaigned hard despite the suspension, with the government hoping the result will help break the stalemate in the province.

Whilst the UK government has kept out of the politics of the debate it has urged the people of Northern Ireland to use their vote today.

"This is an important election for the future of Northern Ireland. I would encourage everyone entitled to vote to make full use of their democratic mandate," said Paul Murphy."The future of Northern Ireland will be shaped by the electorate. While no-one underestimates the political difficulties that exist, everyone can use their vote to move things forward.

"I would encourage people to be positive and contribute to the future by making the effort to turn out and vote."

In the 1998 election the Ulster Unionists won 28 of the 108 seats, the SDLP took 24, the DUP gained 20 and Sinn Fein held 18.

The DUP is battling to replace the UUP as the largest unionist party and Sinn Fein is attempting to replace the SDLP as the major pro-unification party.

Negotiations on restoring the power-sharing executive are likely to resume following the election, though the provision of further details about the IRA's last act of decommissioning remains a major stumbling block.

The Northern Ireland assembly was established in 1998, with the first elections held in June of that year.

Six Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are elected to each of the 18 parliamentary constituencies.

Elections to the Northern Ireland assembly are run under the single transferable vote system of PR.

Under the system voters show their preference for different candidates by ranking them in their preferred order.

Alliance - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland

The Conservative and Unionist Party

Democratic Unionist Party

Green Party

Northern Ireland Unionist Party

Northern Ireland Women's Coalition

Progressive Unionist Party of Northern Ireland

SDLP

Sinn Fein

Socialist Environmental Alliance

Socialist Party (Northern Ireland)

Ulster Third Way

Ulster Unionist Party

United Kingdom Unionist Party

United Unionist Coalition

Vote For Yourself

Workers Party

22 independent candidates will also take part in the election