Edwin Poots will replace Christopher Stalford as Assemblyman for South Belfast, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has confirmed.
Mr Stalford died suddenly in February aged 39.
Mr Poots will also stand for South Belfast in the forthcoming general election in May.
Sir Jeffrey did not confirm if he will replace Mr Poots in the Lagan Valley constituency.
The party leader, who is currently MP for the Lagan Valley, last year announced his intention to run as a candidate in the constituency for the general election.
He said: “We have not yet completed our selection process and will be pushing that forward over the next few days.”
In January, Mr Poots tried to win the DUP’s nomination for South Down but failed after the party nominated Diane Forsythe instead.
Mr Poots, Stormont Agriculture Minister, was elected DUP leader in May 2021, beating Sir Jeffrey in a leadership contest following the ouster of Arlene Foster.
However, he resigned 21 days later. with Sir Jeffrey later replacing him as party leader.
- Stormont pays tribute to Christopher Stalford
- Christopher Stalford was ‘humble, loving and kind’
Mr Poots paid tribute to Mr Stalford, describing him as “difficult to follow” and said Mr Stalford’s family had asked him to consider the role.
“Christopher was a good local representative with a good reputation in this community,” he said.
“We will try to build on the work that Christopher has done during this time.”
The full list of candidates for the South Belfast constituency is unconfirmed but others known to run are:
- Clare Bailey, Green Party
- Paula Bradshaw, Alliance
- Andrew Girvin, TUV
- Deirdre Hargey, Sinn Fein
- Kate Nicholl, Alliance
- Stephen McCarthy, UUP
- Matthew O’Toole, SDLP
- Elsie Trainor, SDLP
The full list of candidates for the constituency will be available on the BBC News NI website after the nominations close on 8 April.
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