Sinn Féin leader Mr Gerry Adams said today dialogue with unionists "has to continue".
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Mr Adams: dialogue must continue
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Speaking after being elected in his West Belfast constituency, Mr Adams said: "We asked people to endorse the risks we were taking for the peace process, we stood on our record in the assembly and the executive.
"I have not lost confidence in the ordinary people. The politicians have tolive up to their responsibilities and to catch up with the people on theground," he added.
Speaking after his election in North Antrim, DUP leader, Rev Ian Paisley, said it was a "good day" for his party.
"We are going to have a proper negotiation for a new agreement that will enable the democrats, and the democrats only, to buy into something that is stable," he said.
Earlier, Dr Paisley said he would not enter into dialogue with Sinn Fein after the result.
"I think that I am entitled to ignore murderers. I don't see Mr Bush and Mr Blair talking to terrorists. They're using millions and millions of pounds to blow them out of existence," he said at the count centre in Ballymoney, Co Antrim.
"We don't need any murderers in this country," he added.
His son Mr Ian Paisley junior, who was also elected in North Antrim, said: "Today there has been a nail hammered very hard into the coffin of the Belfast Agreement."
In Upper Bann, UUP leader Mr David Trimble was in defiant form, brushing off suggestions at the count that the party would be overtaken by the DUP.
"There is not just speculation," he said.
"There is bombastic claim after bombastic claim week in, week out, month in, month out and year in, year out which has not been backed up by facts."
The SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan was pessimistic about his party's performance. "The lower turn-out in some places had a bigger impact on us than other parties," he said in the Foyle constituency count centre. "Clearly we have more work to do, as we always we had. We need to have more people in our organisation and we need more resources.
"I'm worried, not so much for the SDLP or whatever, I'm just worried aboutwhat this result means for our political process, what it means for the futureof the Agreement," he said.