Election to the Northern Ireland Assembly 2007
In the election for the Northern Ireland Assembly 2007 on March 7, 2007 , the Northern Ireland Assembly , the "Northern Ireland Assembly" was newly elected. As a result, the moderate parties that originally negotiated the Good Friday Agreement lost and the more radical parties on the unionist and republican sides gained votes and seats. Nevertheless, the election was a success, as a Northern Irish regional government could then be formed again.
prehistory
The 2007 election was the third election to the Northern Ireland Assembly since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. In the previous election in 2003, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin (SF) had gained significantly in votes. In the subsequent negotiations to form a regional government for Northern Ireland, no agreement was reached, as the DUP refused to allow Sinn Féin a share in power until it clearly severed its ties to the IRA . The newly elected assembly was therefore suspended by the British government and did not meet once. Since January 2004, however, talks have taken place between representatives of the various parties in order to change the deadlock. In joint talks between the British government, the Government of the Republic of Ireland and the representatives of the parties of Northern Ireland was on October 11 to 13, 2006 in St Andrews ( Scotland an agreement () St Andrews Agreement , St Andrews Agreement ) achieved. All of Northern Ireland's political camps made concessions and the DUP agreed to allow SF to participate in political power. The agreement provided for the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the gradual transfer of political powers to it or to the Northern Irish regional government within the framework of a time schedule ( "roadmap" ). At the same time the election of the Northern Ireland Assembly was agreed. March 7, 2007 was set as the election date.
Suffrage
The selection is based on a preferential voting system ( single transferable vote ). Six MPs were elected in each of the 18 North Irish constituencies for Parliament in Westminster . The entire parliament thus consisted of 108 members.
Spectrum of parties
The following table gives a rough overview of the political orientation of the largest parties. The spectrum of parties was divided fairly largely along denominational lines. Protestants were mostly associated with the unionist parties and Catholics with the republican side.
| Political party | Abbreviation | Political Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Ulster Unionist Party | UUP | conservative unionist |
| Social Democratic and Labor Party | SDLP | republican-social-democratic |
| Democratic Unionist Party | DUP | radical unionist, originally opposed the Good Friday Agreement |
| Sinn Féin | SF | political arm of the IRA , Republican |
| Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Alliance | liberal, originally unionist, later increasingly "neutral" |
| Northern Ireland Unionist Party | NIUP | unionist-conservative, rejected the Good Friday Agreement |
| UK Unionist Party | UKUP | radical unionist, opposed the Good Friday Agreement and Northern Ireland self-government |
| Progressive Unionist Party | PUP | Unionism, the political arm of the Ulster Volunteer Force , socio-politically more in the center-left spectrum, supported the Good Friday Agreement |
A key point of the election campaign was the question of which party would receive the most votes or mandates. After the Treaty of St Andrews this party should have the right to the First Minister to nominate, the second largest party should his deputy ( Deputy specify). On the unionist side the DUP and UUP rivaled, on the republican side Sinn Féin and SDLP rivaled.
Results
The following table shows the election results. The votes in the table correspond to the votes of first preference. The turnout was 62.3%, slightly lower than in the last election in 1998 (63.05% at the time). A total of 252 candidates were available for election. One candidate ran simultaneously in 6 constituencies.
| Political party | Party leader | Candidates | Seats | Change to 2003 |
Voices of first preference |
in % | Change to 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUP | Ian Paisley | 46 | 36 | 6 | 207,721 | 30.1 | 4.4 |
| Sinn Féin | Gerry Adams | 37 | 28 | 4 | 180,573 | 26.2 | 2.6 |
| SDLP | Mark Durkan | 35 | 16 | 2 | 105.164 | 15.2 | 1.8 |
| UUP | Reg Empey | 38 | 18th | 9 | 103.145 | 14.9 | 7.7 |
| Alliance | David Ford | 18th | 7th | 1 | 36,139 | 5.2 | 1.5 |
| Independent | - | 20th | 1 | 19,471 | 2.8 | 1.9 | |
| Green | John Barry | 13 | 1 | 1 | 11,985 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| UKUP | Bob McCartney | 13 | 0 | 1 | 10,452 | 1.5 | 0.7 |
| PUP | Dawn Purvis | 3 | 1 | 3,822 | 0.6 | 0.6 | |
| Conservative party | David Cameron | 9 | 0 | - | 3,457 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Republican Sinn Féin | Ruairí Ó Brádaigh | 6th | 0 | - | 2,522 | 0.4 | - |
| Socialist Environmental | Goretti Horgan | 1 | 0 | - | 2,045 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| UKIP | Nigel Farage | 1 | 0 | - | 1,229 | 0.2 | - |
| Workers' party | John Lowry | 6th | 0 | - | 975 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| People Before Profit Alliance | Gordon Hewitt | 1 | 0 | - | 774 | 0.1 | - |
| Socialist Party | Peter Hadden | 2 | 0 | - | 473 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Make Politicians History | Ronnie Carroll | 4th | 0 | - | 221 | 0.0 | - |
| Labor Party | Malachi Curran | 1 | 0 | - | 123 | 0.0 | - |
| Procapitalism | Samuel Charles Smyth | 1 | 0 | - | 22nd | 0.0 | - |
| total | 255 | 108 | - | 690.313 | 100.0 | - | |
evaluation
Compared to the previous election in 2003, the DUP (+6), Sinn Féin (+4) and the Alliance (+1) won more seats, and the Northern Ireland Green Party won a seat for the first time. The losers were the UUP (−9), which SDLP (−2) and UKUP (−1). The PUP was still represented with one seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly. After the St Andrews Agreement, the parties received proportionate posts in the then newly formed regional government of Northern Ireland.
| Department | minister | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Minister | Ian Paisley | DUP | |
| Deputy First Minister | Martin McGuinness | Sinn Féin | |
| Economy, trade and investment | Nigel Dodds | DUP | |
| Finance and Human Resources | Peter Robinson | DUP | |
| Regional development | Conor Murphy | Sinn Féin | |
| education | Caitríona Ruane | Sinn Féin | |
| Employment and training | Reg Empey | UUP | |
| environment | Arlene Foster | DUP | |
| Culture | Edwin Poots | DUP | |
| Health, Social Services, Public Safety | Michael McGimpsey | UUP | |
| Agriculture, rural development | Michelle Gildernew | Sinn Féin | |
| Social Development | Margaret Ritchie | SDLP | |
Web links
- NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY ELECTION 2007 , analysis of the 2007 election (English, pdf, publisher: Northern Ireland Assembly)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY ELECTION 2007. (PDF) April 20, 2007, accessed on May 1, 2015 (English).
- ^ A b History of the Assembly. Northern Ireland Assembly, accessed May 1, 2015 .
- ↑ Parties to respond within a month. BBC News, October 14, 2006, accessed May 1, 2015 .
- ^ Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Northern Ireland Assembly, accessed March 7, 2015 .
- ^ Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006, § 8: First Minister, deputy First Minister and Northern Ireland Ministers. (PDF) archive.niassembly.gov.uk, accessed on May 1, 2015 (English).
- ↑ a b DUP and Sinn Féin in joint letter. BBC, April 1, 2007, accessed May 1, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c d Sinn Féin reveals ministerial jobs. BBC, April 4, 2007, accessed May 1, 2015 .
