Claire Hanna will be the new leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) after she was the only candidate to be nominated.
The party confirmed on Friday afternoon that Hanna had received support from “SDLP branches and support groups”.
“A motion to ratify Claire as the next SDLP Leader will be tabled before members at the Annual Conference on 5th October.”
It was widely recognised that she would take over from Colum Eastwood after he endorsed her to be the new leader when he announced he would step down.
The leader of the opposition Matthew O’Toole also gave his backing to the MP for Belfast South and Mid Down.
In a statement last week, Claire Hanna acknowledged that recent elections had been “challenging” for her party.
“We have a real opportunity to grow our electoral reach. No other party is fundamentally committed to tackling all three of the major divisions inequality, sectarianism & partition – limiting our region’s potential,” she said.
She will be the party’s seventh leader, and the second woman to lead the party, after Margaret Ritchie.
