There have been six elections to the Assembly since 1998. Election 2005: campaign spending - The UK Parliamentary general election, (March 2006), [, The Electoral Commission. The Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 was passed to bring the Northern Ireland Assembly into line with the other devolved legislatures and to extend each Assembly term to five years instead of four. However, it only existed in "shadow" form until 2 December 1999 when full powers were devolved to the Assembly. The electoral franchise in Northern Ireland for Westminster elections since 1921 has followed the British model which has been based on the step-by-step introduction of universal adult suffrage. Up to the minute results for the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election from BBC News In pursuit of this goal various assemblies and other institutions have been established and these have included the Northern Ireland Assembly (1973-1974); the Constitutional Convention (1975-1976); the Northern Ireland Assembly (1982-1986); the Northern Ireland Forum (1996-1998); and, the Northern Ireland Assembly (1998-2003 and 2003-present). The following are the current statutory and standing committees of the Assembly: 1 There are 3 Legislative Grand Committees of the House of Commons: for England; for England and Wales; and for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. During this time elections to the Stormont parliament, and to local authorities in Northern Ireland, were conducted under franchises which contained a number of distinctive features that were not then to be found elsewhere in the United Kingdom. These were the second elections held on new boundaries, introduced in 2014. This took effect at the March 2017 election. The First and deputy First Ministers were initially elected on a cross-community vote, although this was changed in 2006 and they are now appointed as leaders of the largest parties of the largest and second largest Assembly 'block' (understood to mean 'Unionist', 'Nationalist' and 'Other'). The following page gives a brief description of both the type of elections held in the region as well as the systems of voting that have been adopted. This third Assembly was the first to complete a full term,[11] and saw powers in relation to policing and justice transferred from Westminster on 12 April 2010. [5] The Agreement aimed to end Northern Ireland's violent 30-year Troubles. Initially candidates were elected by PR-STV using the Droop quota with the remaining seats decided by d’Hondt or highest average. (2011). Import and export controls, external trade, Telecommunications, Broadcasting, Internet services, in appointing ministers to the Executive (except for the Minister of Justice), the, any vote taken by the Assembly can be made dependent on cross-community support if a, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, Northern Ireland-related legislation of the UK Parliament, This page was last edited on 2 October 2020, at 22:04. Independent unionist Claire Sugden gained the cross-community support needed to take over the Ministry of Justice.[46]. http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/, The Electoral Commission: This was the system still in operation until March 1973 when the Northern Ireland parliament was suspended in favour of the introduction of 'direct rule' from Westminster. Minor unionist parties flourished again after the 2011 election, which saw the disappearance of the PUP from the Assembly and the election of the TUV, a splinter group from the DUP opposed to the St Andrews Agreement. Belfast: NIO. It looks after the pay and pensions of members directly and through tax-payer funded appointees, and the interests of political parties. (2007). Under this method in each single seat constituency the voter simply puts an ‘X’ on the ballot paper beside the candidate of their choice and the candidate who obtains the most votes is deemed to be elected. With the reduction in the number of Assembly seats, the 8% threshold now amounts to eight rather than nine seats, qualifying Alliance to enter official opposition if they choose. In 1999 the UK Unionist Party lost four of its five MLAs, disagreeing over a protest against Sinn Féin. Powers reserved by Westminster are divided into "excepted matters", which it retains indefinitely, and "reserved matters", which may be transferred to the competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly at a future date. [44] Of these only the TUV survived the 2016 and 2017 elections. From 1921 onwards the authorities in Northern Ireland adopted an electoral franchise for elections to its local parliament that closely resembled the concept of universal adult suffrage introduced in the United Kingdom for parliamentary elections there. The candidate with the lowest number of votes is then eliminated and these votes are transferred on the basis of voters' preferences. The DUP, UUP and SDLP all saw losses. Since the return to direct rule in March 1972 there have been three occasions on which the electorate in Northern Ireland have taken part in referenda. Dublin and Belfast: Royal Irish Academy & Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University. (1999), Northern Ireland: a political directory, 1968-1999. Although the Assembly remained suspended from 2002 until 2007, the persons elected to it at the 2003 Assembly election were called together on 15 May 2006 under the Northern Ireland Act 2006 to meet in an assembly to be known as "the Assembly"[6] (or fully "the Assembly established under the Northern Ireland Act 2006") for the purpose of electing a First Minister and deputy First Minister and choosing the members of an Executive before 25 November 2006 as a preliminary to the restoration of devolved government. It initially had 108 members (MLAs) elected from 18 six-member constituencies on the basis of universal adult suffrage. After 1921 Northern Ireland continued to send elected representatives to the Westminster parliament. Those duly elected were those placed highest in the party’s list of candidates. It also has 6 permanent standing committees and can establish temporary ad hoc committees. The centrist Alliance party secured the roles of Speaker from 1998 to 2007 and Minister of Justice from 2010 to 2016 ( and again from 11 January 2020) thanks to cross-community support, and has seen an increase in its seat wins from 6 to 8. This administration had control over a wide range of internal issues such as law and order, local government representation, agriculture, social services, education, industry, and internal trade. To this end a new parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, was established in 1973. Elliott, Sydney, ‘Voting systems and political parties in Northern Ireland’, in Hadfield, Brigid. and 2001 Local Government Election, Thursday 7 June 2001, 1999 European Election, Thursday 10 June 1999, 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly Election, Thursday 25 June 1998, 1997 Westminster General Election (NI), Thursday 1 May 1997, Population, number of wards, and average ward electorates. Thus many adults who were lodgers or still living at their parents home did not receive a vote. For instance in Northern Ireland the franchise was based on the ratepayer suffrage and the company vote. (1973), Questions & Answers on Proportional Representation. (5th ed.). The 2002–2007 suspension occurred when Unionists withdrew from the Northern Ireland Executive after Sinn Féin's offices at Stormont were raided by the police, who were investigating allegations of intelligence gathering on behalf of the IRA by members of the party's support staff. Ratepayer suffrage meant that, with some exceptions, only those who were owners or tenants of a dwelling (or their spouses) were entitled to vote in local government elections. Laws that would have normally been within the competence of the Assembly were passed by the UK Parliament in the form of Orders-in-Council rather than Acts of the Assembly. This led to a wide ranging report by Sir Patrick Macrory in 1970 that advocated a major overhaul with 26 district councils replacing the existing structures. Questions & Answers on Proportional Representation, Two elections, two contests: the June 2001 elections in Northern Ireland (August 2001), Women and the Local Government Elections 2001 (June 2001), 2011 Referendum on the Alternative Vote system, Number of candidates in each constituency, The Electoral Commission. [12][13] The party nominated 16 candidates across 7 of the 11 local councils.[14]. The reopening was a subdued affair and took place more with trepidation than fanfare. Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. The two parties now have three weeks to form a government.

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