Co-operation urged after Sinn Fein win
The United Kingdom, United States and Irish governments have urged rival parties in Northern Ireland to come together to resurrect its powersharing government after Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein scored a historic victory to become the biggest party in Northern Ireland’s Assembly.
Sinn Fein won 27 seats in the 90-seat legislature, beating the Democratic Unionist Party, which secured 25 seats. It’s the first time in Northern Ireland’s history that an Irish nationalist party has topped the voting. But it’s not clear whether Sinn Fein will lead a new government because of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing politics and tussles over Britain’s exit from the European Union.
While Sinn Fein’s vice-president Michelle O’Neill now has the right to the post of first minister, a functioning Northern Ireland executive cannot be formed unless the largest unionist party agrees to join in the role of deputy first minister.
In February the DUP’s Paul Givan quit as first minister in protest against post-Brexit border arrangements, collapsing the executive. His party has said it will not return to government unless their demands over the customs arrangements are met.
Irish Prime Minister Michea´l Martin said it is “incumbent on all political parties and elected representatives to deliver on their mandate”. In London, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said he will meet with party leaders today to discuss how to reestablish a functioning government.
Lewis reiterated that the UK Government wants to resolve disputes over post-Brexit rules known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The DUP is strongly opposed to the rules, which have imposed customs and border checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. Unionists say the new checks have created a barrier between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK that undermines their British identity.
Britain’s Conservative Government is trying to get the EU to agree to major changes, but negotiations have reached an impasse.