N.Ireland Calls European Vote Results to End British Count

The three incumbent Northern Ireland representatives in the European Parliament were on Tuesday re-elected following a mammoth 25-hour count, officials in Belfast announced.

The Ulster Unionist Party's (UUP) Jim Nicholson was the final candidate to retain his seat following earlier victories for Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson and euroskeptic Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) candidate Diane Dodds.

Sinn Fein also won one seat in the election held in the Republic of Ireland, and is expected to gain another two when full results are declared south of the border.

Anderson said the success of her far-left nationalist party was "part of a national story".

"There will be a national Sinn Fein team of MEPs going to Europe who will put Ireland first -- north, south, east and west," she said.

Nicholson, who has been an MEP for 25 years, said he "looked forward to taking up the challenge because the next five years are going to be very challenging in Europe."

The count completes the results for the United Kingdom, which saw anti-EU party UK Independence Party score a sensational victory.

Nigel Farage's party won 24 seats in total, with opposition party Labor on 20 and the Conservatives, the leading partner in the government coalition, on 19.

The Greens won three seats and the Scottish Nationalist Party retained its two MEPs but it was a disaster for coalition partners the Liberal Democrats, who won only one seat.

Sinn Fein, the DUP, the UUP and Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru all won one seat each.