Supporters of unification with the EU’s neighbor Ireland celebrated a historic success in local elections in Northern Ireland. With Sinn Fein, for the first time since the founding of the British province a good 100 years ago, a party from the Catholic-Republican camp secured the largest number of seats at the municipal level. That was the result of the election, which was released on Sunday night.
According to the final result, the Catholic nationalist party won 31% of the vote, eight points more than in the election four years ago. This means that they represent 144 of the 462 mandates to be granted, 39 more than before. The pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has 122 seats and 23 percent of the vote, as it did four years ago. The DUP thus lost its status as the strongest force at municipal level. In Northern Ireland’s regional parliamentary elections last year, Sinn Fein, which used to be the political wing of the clandestine organization IRA, became the strongest force for the first time.
Northern Ireland Protocol
Around 1.3 million people in the smallest part of Britain were eligible to vote in Thursday’s poll. Voter turnout was 54 percent. Due to the complicated voting system, counting took more than two days.
The local elections were also seen as a test of the reform of the Northern Ireland Protocol, sealed in March, through which the British province continues to be part of the EU internal market and must, therefore, comply with some EU rules. The agreement is intended to keep the border between Northern Ireland and the EU state of Ireland open – also to prevent the conflict in Northern Ireland from escalating. The DUP opposed reform and hoped to strengthen its position in local elections to press for concessions. Sinn Fein’s success came at the expense of more centrist parties.
historical change
“There is historic change taking place and Sinn Fein are leading that change across Ireland,” said Northern Ireland party leader Michelle O’Neill. The result shows that voters wanted the DUP to end the 15-month boycott of the regional assembly.
Under the 1998 Good Friday Peace Accord, which ended the 30-year bloody conflict between nationalists and trade unionists, the two camps must agree on a speaker of parliament before a government can be elected. However, the DUP refused to approve Sinn Fein’s proposal, also to exert pressure in the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
O’Neill called on the DUP to lift the government blockade. “It’s time to make policy work for all people and communities and create a better future for all,” she said. The most recent census showed that for the first time there were more Catholics than Protestants in Northern Ireland.
O’Neill is the designated head of government for the British provinces. The Good Friday Agreement provides for the strongest party in each camp to form a unity government. The party with the most votes is entitled to the position of head of government and the other party to the position of vice president on an equal footing. (whoops, Portal)