Former DUP minister Jonathan Bell could potentially make a return to the corridors of Stormont following the election of Alex Easton as MP for North Down.
Mr Bell worked as Mr Easton’s election agent during his election campaign and was pictured alongside him as the Independent unionist celebrated winning his parliamentary seat.
The pair were seen smiling and cheering at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast during the early hours of Friday as the election results were confirmed.
Mr Easton defeated the incumbent Stephen Farry, of the Alliance Party, by more than 7,000 votes to secure the seat.
His parliamentary win now means his MLA seat will become vacant and under electoral law, as an independent he is able to list substitutes to succeed him.
If a list of successors is not provided, a by-election would be held.
Mr Easton previously said he would give the seat to another independent with reports last week that Mr Bell could be among the possible successors.
Austen Lennon, a former election agent of Mr Easton, who is also an independent councillor, and former DUP special adviser and local councillor Peter Martin’s name have also been mooted.
Mr Bell served as minister at the Enterprise Department which oversaw the publicly funded Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.
He was suspended by the DUP in December 2016, after giving an interview to the BBC about the RHI scheme, in which he made explosive claims that DUP special advisers were reluctant to introduce cost control tariffs to the scheme.
