2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election

2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election | <- 2017 | 5 May 2022 | Next ->

|
|

<- outgoing members

elected members ->

* * *

All 90 seats to the Northern Ireland Assembly
Turnout| 63.61% (1.2%)
|  | First party  | Second party  | Third party

|
|
|

Leader  | Michelle O'Neill[n 1] | Jeffrey Donaldson | Naomi Long
Party  | Sinn Féin | DUP | Alliance
Leader since  | 23 January 2017[n 2] | 30 June 2021 | 26 October 2016
Leader's seat  | Mid Ulster | Lagan Valley (resigned)[a] | Belfast East
Last election  | 27 seats, 27.9%  | 28 seats, 28.1%  | 8 seats, 9.1%
Seats won  | 27 | 25  | 17
Seat change  |  | 3  | 9
Popular vote  | 250,388 | 184,002  | 116,681
Percentage  | 29.0% | 21.3%  | 13.5%
Swing  | 1.1%  | 6.7%  | 4.5%

* * *

| Fourth party  | Fifth party  | Sixth party

Leader  | Doug Beattie | Colum Eastwood | Jim Allister
Party  | UUP | SDLP | TUV
Leader since  | 17 May 2021  | 14 November 2015  | 7 December 2007
Leader's seat  | Upper Bann | Did not stand[b] | North Antrim
Last election  | 10 seats, 12.9%  | 12 seats, 11.9%  | 1 seat, 2.6%
Seats won  | 9  | 8  | 1
Seat change  | 1  | 4  |
Popular vote  | 96,390  | 78,237  | 65,788
Percentage  | 11.2%  | 9.1%  | 7.6%
Swing  | 1.7%  | 2.9%  | 5.0%

* * *

| Seventh party  |

Leader  | Eamonn McCann[n 3] |
Party  | People Before Profit |
Leader since  | N/A  |
Leader's seat  | Did not stand |
Last election  | 1 seat, 1.8%  |
Seats won  | 1  |
Seat change  |  |
Popular vote  | 9,798  |
Percentage  | 1.1%  |
Swing  | 0.6%  |

* * *

* * *

| First Minister and
deputy First Minister before election

vacant positions

| First Minister and
deputy First Minister

Michelle O'Neill (SF) &
Emma Little-Pengelly (DUP)

|

The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three months after the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed due to the resignation of the First Minister, Paul Givan of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.[2]

In the sixth assembly, elected in 2017, eight parties had Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs): the DUP, latterly led by Jeffrey Donaldson; Sinn Féin, led by Michelle O'Neill; the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), latterly led by Doug Beattie; the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), led by Colum Eastwood; Alliance, led by Naomi Long; the Greens, led by Clare Bailey; People Before Profit (PBP), which has a collective leadership; and the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), led by Jim Allister.

Sinn Féin became the largest party, marking the first time an Irish nationalist/republican party won the most seats in an assembly election in Northern Ireland, and has the right to nominate Northern Ireland's first nationalist First Minister. The DUP's vote share dropped almost 7% and it lost three seats; despite this, unionists won two more seats than nationalists—37 seats to 35—and a marginally higher share of the vote.[3] Alliance made large gains, as the only party to gain seats at the election, overtaking the UUP and the SDLP to become the third-largest party in the Assembly. The Greens lost both seats they held before the election and were unrepresented in the Assembly for the first time since 2003.[4][5]

As Northern Ireland's government is based on power-sharing, the DUP (the largest unionist party) was required to nominate a deputy First Minister for the Executive to be formed and the Assembly to conduct business; however, they refused to do so due to their opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol and post-Brexit trading arrangements.[6] It wasn't until 31 January 2024 that the DUP and UK Government announced a deal had been struck to revive the Executive,[7] and on 3 February 2024 the Assembly swore in Sinn Fein First Minister Michelle O'Neill and DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.[8]

## Background

[edit]

### Electoral events

[edit]

In May 2013, Theresa Villiers, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that the next Assembly election would be postponed to May 2016, and would be held at fixed intervals of five years thereafter.[9] Section 7 of the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 specifies that elections will be held on the first Thursday in May on the fifth calendar year following that in which its predecessor was elected,[10] which would be 5 May 2022; however, there are several circumstances in which the Assembly can be dissolved before the date scheduled by virtue of section 31(1) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

In June 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union, although Northern Ireland voted to remain.[11] The process of withdrawal held particular uncertainty for Northern Ireland due to the potential for customs on the UK–Ireland border.[12] Meanwhile, an early election was held to the Northern Ireland Assembly in March 2017. After the election, Sinn Féin stated that it would not return to a power-sharing arrangement with the Democratic Unionist Party without significant changes in the party's approach, including Arlene Foster not becoming First Minister until an investigation into the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal was complete.[13] Over the next few years,[14][15] the deadline to form an executive was repeatedly extended as negotiations continued with no success.[16][17][18]

On 18 April 2017, Theresa May, Prime Minister of the UK, called for a general election to be held on 8 June 2017.[19] The Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority and sought a confidence and supply agreement with the DUP in order to remain in government. The DUP and the Conservatives reached an agreement on 26 June.[20]

In 2019, the UK experienced significant political turbulence over the question of how to proceed with Brexit. The European Parliament election in May 2019 saw the Alliance Party take the third MEP place from the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). DUP support for the Conservative government broke down with disagreements over the government's Brexit plans. The Conservative government sought a new election, held in December 2019, which they won with a large majority. In Northern Ireland, for the first time, traditional Irish nationalist parties won more seats than traditional unionist parties. The SDLP and Alliance returned to the House of Commons, while the DUP and Sinn Féin saw vote share declines of more than 5%.[21]

A DUP/Sinn Féin executive was re-established on 10 January 2020 with the New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) agreement, forestalling an immediate new election.[22] By the end of February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Northern Ireland.[23]

On 15 January 2022, the UK government was accused of interfering in the election by reintroducing dual mandates, which had been abolished in 2016. This would enable MPs like Donaldson to have seats in Stormont as well as Westminster,[24] but plans were withdrawn four days later.[25]

### Leadership changes

[edit]

On 28 April 2021, Arlene Foster announced that she would be resigning as DUP leader on 28 May and First Minister in June 2021 after more than 20 DUP MLAs and four DUP MPs signed a letter "...voicing no confidence in her leadership".[26] Edwin Poots narrowly won the subsequent May 2021 DUP leadership election, but announced his resignation 21 days later.[27] The runner-up in the election, Jeffrey Donaldson, stood unopposed in the June 2021 DUP leadership election and with no other candidates the party chose not to hold a ballot (some parties still do a leadership vote or ballot with one candidate with the other option to re-open nominations). Donaldson was ratified as the party's leader on 30 June 2021.[28] Meanwhile, after Poots elected not to replace Foster as First Minister,[29] Paul Givan took up the position on 17 June 2021.[30]

Steve Aiken announced his resignation as leader of the UUP on 8 May 2021,[31] with Doug Beattie taking up the post nine days later after standing unopposed.[32]

### Northern Ireland Protocol

[edit]

The Northern Ireland Protocol is a protocol to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement that governs the unique customs and immigration issues at the border in the island of Ireland between the United Kingdom and the European Union, and on some aspects of trade in goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.[33] Its terms were negotiated in 2019 and agreed and concluded in December 2020. Due to a thirty-year internecine conflict in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles, the UK–Ireland border has had a special status since that conflict was ended by the Belfast Agreement/Good Friday Agreement of 1998. As part of the Northern Ireland Peace Process, the border has been largely invisible, without any physical barrier or customs checks on its many crossing points; this arrangement was made possible by both countries' common membership of both the European Single Market and EU Customs Union, and of their Common Travel Area.

The DUP threatened to pull out of Stormont's power-sharing government on 9 September 2021, triggering a snap election "within weeks" unless the protocol was scrapped. Donaldson warned: "I say not as a threat but as a matter of political reality that our political institutions will not survive a failure to resolve the problems the Protocol has created."[34] The following week, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood accused the DUP of having a "petulant strop" and called for a new law to stop an early election. He told peers that the "delicate constitutional balance" in Northern Ireland was "too fragile for people to play games with".[35]

On 3 February 2022, Givan resigned as First Minister in protest over the protocol, which automatically resulted in the Deputy First Minister losing her role and the Northern Ireland Executive collapsing.[36][37] Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said that the UK government would "reform" the protocol if the EU did not,[38] whilst it was also reported that Westminster was planning legislation that would give ministers powers to abolish the protocol altogether.[39] During a rally in Ballymena on 30 April, TUV leader Jim Allister said that the Executive would not be returning unless the protocol was removed.[40]

### Calls for early election

[edit]

Following the collapse of the Assembly, Sinn Féin and the DUP both called for the election to be brought forward, but the UUP, SDLP and Alliance Party opposed the idea.[41][42] Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis ruled out an early election,[43] saying that the priority was to get the Assembly up and running again.[44] Two weeks later, however, Lewis claimed there was "a real risk" that the Executive would not return after the election.[45]

## Candidates

[edit]

Nominations opened on 29 March 2022 for the assembly election and closed on 8 April 2022.[46]

A total of 239 candidates contested the 90 available seats in the Assembly, an increase from 228 in 2016.[46] Eighty-seven women ran as candidates in the election, which is the highest number in history.[47] The seats were spread over 18 constituencies, with each constituency having five seats. The election was conducted using the single transferable vote system.

The table below lists all of the nominated candidates.[48][49]

* * indicates an incumbent MLA
* ** indicates the candidate is the incumbent MLA for a different constituency
* ^ indicates a former MLA who was not a member at the dissolution of the 2017–22 Assembly
* Leaders of parties represented in the assembly at dissolution are shown in bold text
* Elected candidates are marked with an (E)

Constituency  | DUP | SF | SDLP | UUP | Alliance | TUV | Green | PBP | Aontú | Independent | Others

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Belfast East | David Brooks (E)
Joanne Bunting* (E)  | Mairéad O'Donnell  | Charlotte Carson  | Andy Allen* (E)
Lauren Kerr  | Naomi Long* (E)
Peter McReynolds (E) | John Ross  | Brian Smyth  | Hannah Kenny  |  |  | Karl Bennett (PUP)
Eoin MacNeill (WP)
Belfast North | Phillip Brett (E)
Brian Kingston (E)  | Gerry Kelly* (E)
Carál Ní Chuilín* (E)  | Nichola Mallon*  | Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston  | Nuala McAllister (E)  | Ron McDowell  | Mal O'Hara | Fiona Ferguson  | Seán Mac Niocaill  | Stafford Ward  | Billy Hutchinson^ (PUP)
Lily Kerr (WP)
Belfast South | Edwin Poots* (E)  | Deirdre Hargey* (E)  | Matthew O'Toole* (E)
Elsie Trainor  | Stephen McCarthy  | Paula Bradshaw* (E)
Kate Nicholl (E)  | Andrew Girvin  | Clare Bailey*  | Sipho Sibanda  | Luke McCann  | Elly Odhiambo  | Paddy Lynn (WP)
Neil Moore (SP)
Belfast West | Frank McCoubrey | Danny Baker (E)
Órlaithí Flynn* (E)
Aisling Reilly* (E)
Pat Sheehan* (E)  | Paul Doherty  | Linsey Gibson  | Donnamarie Higgins  | Jordan Doran  | Stevie Maginn  | Gerry Carroll* (E)  | Gerard Herdman  | Gerard Burns
Declan Hill
Tony Mallon  | Patrick Crossan (WP)
Dan Murphy (IRSP)
East Antrim | David Hilditch* (E)
Gordon Lyons* (E)  | Oliver McMullan^  | Siobhán McAlister  | John Stewart* (E)
Roy Beggs Jr*  | Stewart Dickson* (E)
Danny Donnelly (E)  | Norman Boyd^  | Mark Bailey  |  |  |  |
East Londonderry | Maurice Bradley* (E)
Alan Robinson (E)  | Caoimhe Archibald* (E)
Kathleen McGurk  | Cara Hunter* (E)  | Darryl Wilson  | Chris McCaw  | Jordan Armstrong  | Mark Coulson  | Amy Merron  | Gemma Brolly  | Claire Sugden* (Ind U) (E)
Niall Murphy
Stephanie Quigley
Billy Stewart  | Russell Watton (PUP)
Fermanagh and
South Tyrone | Deborah Erskine* (E)
Paul Bell  | Jemma Dolan* (E)
Colm Gildernew* (E)
Áine Murphy* (E)  | Adam Gannon  | Tom Elliott^ (E)
Rosemary Barton*  | Matthew Beaumont  | Alex Elliott  | Kellie Turtle  | Emmett Kilpatrick  | Denise Mullen  | Derek Backhouse
Emma DeSouza | Donal O'Cofaigh (CCLA)
Foyle | Gary Middleton* (E)  | Pádraig Delargy* (E)
Ciara Ferguson* (E)  | Mark H. Durkan* (E)
Sinead McLaughlin* (E)
Brian Tierney  | Ryan McCready  | Rachael Ferguson  | Elizabeth Neely  | Gillian Hamilton  | Shaun Harkin  | Emmet Doyle  | Anne McCloskey  | Colly McLaughlin (IRSP)
Lagan Valley | Jeffrey Donaldson^ (E)
Paul Givan* (E)  | Gary McCleave  | Pat Catney*  | Robbie Butler* (E)
Laura Turner  | Sorcha Eastwood (E)
David Honeyford (E)  | Lorna Smyth  | Simon Lee  | Amanda Doherty  |  | Gary Hynds  |
Mid Ulster | Keith Buchanan* (E)  | Linda Dillon* (E)
Michelle O'Neill* (E)
Emma Sheerin* (E)  | Patsy McGlone* (E)  | Meta Graham  | Claire Hackett  | Glenn Moore  | Stefan Taylor[n 4] | Sophia McFeely  | Alixandra Halliday  | Patrick Haughey  | Conor Rafferty (Resume NI)
Hugh Scullion (WP)
Newry and Armagh | William Irwin* (E)  | Cathal Boylan* (E)
Liz Kimmins* (E)
Conor Murphy* (E)  | Justin McNulty* (E)  | David Taylor  | Jackie Coade  | Keith Ratcliffe  | Ciara Henry  |  | Daniel Connolly  | Gavin Malone  | Nicola Grant (WP)
North Antrim | Paul Frew* (E)
Mervyn Storey*  | Philip McGuigan* (E)  | Eugene Reid  | Robin Swann* (E)
Bethany Ferris  | Patricia O'Lynn (E)  | Jim Allister* (E)
Matthew Armstrong  | Paul Veronica  |  |  | Laird Shingleton  |
North Down | Stephen Dunne* (E)
Jennifer Gilmour  | Thérèse McCartney  | Déirdre Vaughan  | Alan Chambers* (E)
Naomi McBurney  | Connie Egan (E)
Andrew Muir* (E)  | John Gordon  | Rachel Woods*  |  |  | Alex Easton* (Ind U) (E)
Chris Carter
Ray McKimm  | Matthew Robinson (Con)
South Antrim | Pam Cameron* (E)
Trevor Clarke* (E)  | Declan Kearney* (E)  | Roisin Lynch  | Steve Aiken* (E)
Paul Michael  | John Blair* (E)  | Mel Lucas  | Lesley Veronica  | Jerry Maguire  | Róisín Bennett  | Andrew Moran  |
South Down | Diane Forsythe (E)  | Sinéad Ennis* (E)
Cathy Mason (E)  | Colin McGrath* (E)
Karen McKevitt^  | Jill Macauley | Patrick Brown (E)  | Harold McKee^  | Noeleen Lynch  | Paul McCrory  | Rosemary McGlone  | Patrick Clarke  |
Strangford | Harry Harvey* (E)
Michelle McIlveen* (E)
Peter Weir*  | Róisé McGivern  | Conor Houston  | Mike Nesbitt* (E)
Philip Smith^  | Kellie Armstrong* (E)
Nick Mathison (E)  | Stephen Cooper  | Maurice Macartney  |  |  | Ben King  |
Upper Bann | Jonathan Buckley* (E)
Diane Dodds* (E)  | John O'Dowd* (E)
Liam Mackle  | Dolores Kelly*  | Doug Beattie* (E)
Glenn Barr  | Eóin Tennyson (E)  | Darrin Foster  | Lauren Kendall  |  | Aidan Gribbin  |  | Glenn Beattie (Heritage)
West Tyrone | Tom Buchanan* (E)  | Nicola Brogan* (E)
Declan McAleer* (E)
Maolíosa McHugh* (E)  | Daniel McCrossan* (E)  | Ian Marshall | Stephen Donnelly  | Trevor Clarke  | Susan Glass  | Carol Gallagher  | James Hope  | Barry Brown
Paul Gallagher  | Amy Ferguson (SP)
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## Members not seeking re-election

[edit]

The following MLAs announced that they would not stand for re-election.[51]

MLA | Constituency
/region  | First elected
or co-opted  | Party  | Date announced

|
|
|
|

Trevor Lunn | Lagan Valley | 2007 |  | Independent[n 5] | 22 February 2021[52]
Emma Rogan | South Down | 2017  |  | Sinn Féin | 19 May 2021[53]
Sinéad Bradley | South Down | 2016 |  | SDLP | 24 May 2021[54]
Alex Maskey | Belfast West | 1998 |  | Sinn Féin | 5 August 2021[55]
Chris Lyttle | Belfast East | 2010  |  | Alliance | 29 October 2021[56]
Robin Newton | Belfast East | 2003 |  | DUP | 2 February 2022[57]
George Robinson | East Londonderry | 2003 |  | DUP | 17 March 2022[58]
William Humphrey | Belfast North | 2010  |  | DUP | 17 March 2022[59]
Paula Bradley | Belfast North | 2011 |  | DUP | 17 March 2022[60]
Paul Rankin | Lagan Valley | 2022  |  | DUP | 17 March 2022[61]
Jim Wells | South Down | 1998 |  | Ind. Unionist[n 6] | 23 March 2022[62]

## Campaign

[edit]

The Sinn Féin campaign avoided talk of a united Ireland,[63] instead focusing on "bread and butter" issues.[64] Sinn Féin called for a £230 payment to help people with the cost of living.[65] A threat to destroy a Sinn Féin billboard was reported to the police.[66] The Social Democratic and Labour Party's campaign had reportedly been difficult.[67] Candidate Elsie Trainor was attacked by youths in Belfast who also hurled sectarian abuse.[68] Leader Colum Eastwood urged tactical voting.[69] Aontú was the only Irish nationalist party to campaign on an anti-abortion platform.[70]

The Democratic Unionist Party campaign focused on their opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol, Sinn Féin and the prospect of a referendum on Irish unity.[71] The Traditional Unionist Voice said that opposing the Northern Ireland Protocol is "top priority".[72] They received a number of defections from the DUP.[73] In contrast to the DUP, the Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said a united Ireland would not happen in his or his children's lifetime, thus "we can set it aside in order to concentrate on the issues affecting the daily lives of our people who live here".[74] All three unionist leaders attended a series of rallies against the Protocol. In March, Beattie announced he would continue to oppose the Protocol but would no longer take part in the rallies. Beattie said they had been hijacked by loyalists to raise tensions "that now see a resurgence in UVF activity". Following this, his constituency office in Portadown was attacked,[75] and an election poster with a noose around his neck appeared at a loyalist rally in Lurgan.[76]

The Alliance Party advocated reform of the Stormont institutions to remove the designation system and avoid a "cycle of collapse". It also advocated health reform and the introduction of a child payment scheme to support people with the cost of living.[77] The party further promised to build Casement Park,[78] positioned itself as the "centre ground" and campaigned in constituencies west of the River Bann, where they have never won any seats.[79]

The Green Party pledged the establishment of a bill of rights, an independent Environmental Protection Agency, and rent controls.[80] The People Before Profit manifesto was launched on 22 April. In it, they promised a £1,000 to help with cost of living.[81] On 30 April, PBP candidate Hannah Kenny was attacked by three men in East Belfast, who also subjected her to "sectarian and misogynistic" abuse.[82]

On 13 April, it was reported that the Police Service of Northern Ireland had been notified of 41 political poster incidents.[83]

Televised debates between the party leaders were held on 1 May and 3 May.[84][85]

2022 Northern Ireland Assembly debates  Date
scheduled  | Organisers  | Moderator(s)  |  P Present[c] | Audience  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

DUP | SF | SDLP | UUP | Alliance
|  |  |  |
1 May  | UTV | Marc Mallett | P
Donaldson | P
O'Neill | P
Eastwood | P
Beattie | P
Long | Yes  | [86]
3 May  | BBC One Northern Ireland | Jim Fitzpatrick  | P
Donaldson | P
O'Neill | P
Eastwood | P
Beattie | P
Long | Yes  | [87]

1. ^ Donaldson was elected to the Assembly but declined to take up his seat. Emma Little-Pengelly was co-opted to the seat in his place.
2. ^ Eastwood sits in the House of Commons as the MP for Foyle
3. ^ Denotes a main invitee attending the event.

## Opinion polls

[edit]

Local regression of polls conducted

Date(s)
conducted  | Pollster  | Client  | Sample
size  | DUP U | SF N | UUP U | SDLP N | APNI O | TUV U | Green O | PBP O | Aontú N | Other  | Lead

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
5 May 2022  | 2022 Assembly election  | –  | –  | 21.3%  | 29.0% | 11.2%  | 9.1%  | 13.5%  | 7.9%  | 1.9%  | 1.1%  | 1.5%  | 3.5%  | 7.7%
16–26 Apr 2022  | Social Market Research | University of Liverpool/Irish News | 1,270  | 18.2%  | 26.6% | 12.1%  | 10.5%  | 18.2%  | 5.7%  | 2.9%  | 2.1%  | TBD  |  | 8.4%
22–24 Apr 2022  | LucidTalk | Belfast Telegraph | 1,708  | 20%  | 26% | 14%  | 10%  | 14%  | 9%  | 3%  | 2%  | TBD  | 2%  | 6%
11–26 Mar 2022  | Social Market Research | University of Liverpool/Irish News | 1,000  | 20.2%  | 27.0% | 13.6%  | 10.2%  | 14.7%  | 5.4%  | 4.3%  | 2.1%  | 0.3%  | 2.2%  | 6.8%
18–21 Mar 2022  | LucidTalk | Belfast Telegraph | 3,281  | 19%  | 26% | 13%  | 11%  | 16%  | 9%  | 2%  | 2%  | 0%  | 2%  | 7%
25 Jan - 7 Feb 2022  | Social Market Research | University of Liverpool/Irish News | 1,002  | 19.4%  | 23.2% | 14.0%  | 9.9%  | 15.6%  | 6.4%  | 6.3%  | 2.3%  | 0.3%  | 2.6%  | 3.8%
3 Feb 2022  | Paul Givan resigns as First Minister[36]
14–17 Jan 2022  | LucidTalk | Belfast Telegraph | 3,112  | 17%  | 25% | 14%  | 11%  | 14%  | 12%  | 3%  | 1%  | 1%  | 2%  | 8%
5–11 Nov 2021  | LucidTalk | Belfast Telegraph | 3,298  | 18%  | 24% | 14%  | 12%  | 15%  | 11%  | 2%  | 2%  | 0%  | 2%  | 6%
21–29 Oct 2021  | Social Market Research | University of Liverpool | 1,002  | 20.6%  | 23.5% | 13.0%  | 11.4%  | 17.3%  | 5.6%  | 3.9%  | 1.0%  | 0.7%  | 2.4%  | 2.9%
20–23 Aug 2021  | LucidTalk | Belfast Telegraph | 2,403  | 13%  | 25% | 16%  | 13%  | 13%  | 14%  | 2%  | 2%  | 0%  | 2%  | 9%
30 Jun 2021  | Jeffrey Donaldson becomes leader of the Democratic Unionist Party[88]
17 Jun 2021  | Paul Givan becomes First Minister[30]
17 May 2021  | Doug Beattie is elected leader of the Ulster Unionist Party[89]
14–17 May 2021  | LucidTalk | Belfast Telegraph | 3,072  | 16%  | 25% | 14%  | 12%  | 16%  | 11%  | 2%  | 2%  | 0%  | 2%  | 9%
14 May 2021  | Edwin Poots is elected leader of the Democratic Unionist Party[90]
22–25 Jan 2021  | LucidTalk | Belfast Telegraph | 2,295  | 19%  | 24% | 12%  | 13%  | 18%  | 10%  | 2%  | 1%  | 0%  | 1%  | 5%
2–5 Oct 2020  | LucidTalk | Belfast Telegraph | 1,961  | 23%  | 24% | 12%  | 13%  | 16%  | 6%  | 3%  | 2%  | 0%  | 1%  | 1%
31 Jan 2020  | The United Kingdom leaves the European Union[91]
11 Jan 2020  | The Executive is re-established[92]
12 Dec 2019  | United Kingdom general election[93]
9 Nov 2019  | Steve Aiken becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party[94]
23 May 2019  | European Parliament election[95]
2 May 2019  | Local elections[96]
23–26 Feb 2018  | LucidTalk | Northern Slant | 2,079  | 33.6% | 32.4%  | 10.3%  | 8.6%  | 8.0%  | 2.3%  | 1.9%  | 1.7%  | –  | 1.7%  | 1.2%
1–4 Dec 2017  | LucidTalk | GUE/NGL | 2,079  | 33.7% | 32.8%  | 8.9%  | 8.6%  | 7.9%  | 1.1%  | 2.2%  | 1.1%  | –  | 3.7%  | 0.9%
8–11 Sep 2017  | LucidTalk | N/A  | 2,080  | 35.5% | 31.2%  | 9.6%  | 9.4%  | 8.6%  | 1.3%  | 1.7%  | 1.5%  | –  | 1.3%  | 4.3%
2 Mar 2017  | 2017 Assembly election | –  | –  | 28.1% | 27.9%  | 12.9%  | 11.9%  | 9.1%  | 2.6%  | 2.3%  | 1.8%  | –  | 3.6%  | 0.2%

* (U): Unionist, (N): Nationalist, (O): Other

## Results

[edit]

Votes were counted on 6 and 7 May.[97] Sinn Féin became the largest party, marking the first time an Irish nationalist/republican party had won the most seats in an election in Northern Ireland, and has the right to nominate Northern Ireland's first nationalist First Minister. As Northern Ireland's government is based on power-sharing, the DUP (as second-largest party) must nominate a deputy First Minister for the Executive to be formed; however, they said they will not do so until their issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol are dealt with.[6]

The DUP's vote share dropped almost 7% and lost three seats; despite this, unionists won two more seats than nationalists—37 seats to 35—and a marginally higher share of the vote.[3] This being said, socialist party People Before Profit—who returned one candidate to the Assembly—favour a united socialist Ireland, though they officially designated themselves as Socialist, rather than Nationalist or Unionist, on the electoral register. Indeed, both nationalist parties (4) and unionist parties (3) lost seats overall to 'Others', who gained 7 seats for their highest ever proportion of seats in the assembly, 18 seats, or 20% of those available, despite both Green candidates losing their seat. Unionist parties lost greater combined vote share, losing just over 2.5% of the total vote, whereas nationalist parties (including newcomers Aontú) lost only around 0.5% of vote share combined.

Alliance achieved their highest ever first-preference vote share in an Assembly election, becoming the third-largest party in the Assembly and adding over 50% to their vote share, going from 9% to over 13.5%. They overtook the UUP (who lost one seat) and the SDLP (who lost four), who both received their lowest ever vote shares. The TUV also achieved their highest vote share, tripling their share and up 5% from the last election, but they did not win any more seats.[98] The Greens lost both seats they held before the election and were shut out of the Assembly for the first time since 2003.[4][5] Alex Easton, who left the DUP in 2021, was re-elected as an independent unionist, as was the returning former Justice Minister, Claire Sugden. Colum Eastwood believed SDLP voters gave their support to Sinn Féin in this election, saying "there's a tide there and people wanted to send a message, they wanted to kick the DUP and I think this is how they decided to do it".[47]

Party| Votes| %| +/–| Seats
Assembly| +/–| Executive| +/–
| Sinn Féin| 250,388| 29.02| +1.1| 27| –| 5| +1
| Democratic Unionist Party| 184,002| 21.33| -6.7| 25| -3| 4| -1
| Alliance Party of Northern Ireland| 116,681| 13.53| +4.5| 17| +9| 2| +1
| Ulster Unionist Party| 96,390| 11.17| -1.7| 9| -1| 1| –
| Social Democratic and Labour Party| 78,237| 9.07| -2.9| 8| -4| 0| -1
| Traditional Unionist Voice| 65,788| 7.63| +5.0| 1| –| –| –
| Green Party Northern Ireland| 16,433| 1.90| -0.4| –| -2| –| –
| Aontú| 12,777| 1.48| New| –| New| –| –
| People Before Profit| 9,798| 1.14| -0.6| 1| –| –| –
| Progressive Unionist Party| 2,665| 0.31| -0.4| –| –| –| –
| Irish Republican Socialist Party| 1,869| 0.22| New| –| New| –| –
| Workers' Party| 839| 0.10| -0.1| –| –| –| –
| Cross-Community Labour Alternative| 602| 0.07| -0.3| –| –| –| –
| Socialist Party| 524| 0.06| New| –| New| –| –
| Northern Ireland Conservatives| 254| 0.03| -0.3| –| –| –| –
| Heritage Party| 128| 0.01| New| –| New| –| –
| Resume Party| 13| 0.00| New| –| New| –| –
| Independent| 25,315| 2.93| +1.1| 2| +1| –| –
Total| 862,703| 100.00| –| 90| 0| 12| 0
Valid votes| 862,703| 98.73|
Invalid/blank votes| 11,078| 1.27|
Total votes| 873,781| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 1,373,731| 63.61|
Map of the results Seats won by each party per constituency, with turnout and vote share. Seats per constituency, by party and designation (Nationalist, Unionist, Other)

### Distribution of seats by constituency

[edit]

Party affiliation of the five Assembly members returned by each constituency. The first column indicates the party of the Member of the House of Commons (MP) returned by the corresponding parliamentary constituency in the 2019 United Kingdom general election under the first-past-the-post voting method.

Party of MP, 2019  | Constituency  | Northern Ireland Assembly seats

|
|

Total  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Gained
by  | Formerly
held by
PBP  | Green  | Sinn
Féin  | SDLP  | APNI  | UUP  | DUP  | TUV  | Ind.
| DUP | North Antrim | 5 | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | –  | Alliance  | DUP
| DUP | East Antrim | 5 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | –  | Alliance  | UUP
| DUP | South Antrim | 5 | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | –
| Sinn Féin | Belfast North | 5 | – | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | –  | Alliance  | SDLP
| Sinn Féin | Belfast West | 5 | 1 | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | –
| SDLP | Belfast South | 5 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | – | –  | Alliance  | Green
| DUP | Belfast East | 5 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | –
| Alliance | North Down | 5  | –  | –  | –  | –  | 2  | 1  | 1  | –  | 1  | Ind. U. | DUP
Alliance  | Green
| DUP | Strangford | 5 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | –  | Alliance  | DUP
| DUP | Lagan Valley | 5 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | –  | Alliance  | SDLP
| DUP | Upper Bann | 5 | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | –  | Alliance  | SDLP
| Sinn Féin | South Down | 5 | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | –  | Alliance  | SDLP
| Sinn Féin | Newry and Armagh | 5 | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | –
| Sinn Féin | Fermanagh & South Tyrone | 5 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | –
| Sinn Féin | West Tyrone | 5 | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | –
| Sinn Féin | Mid Ulster | 5 | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | –
| SDLP | Foyle | 5 | – | – | 2 | 2 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | –
| DUP | East Londonderry | 5 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | –
Total | 90 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 8 | 17 | 9 | 25 | 1 | 2 |  |
Change since 2017 | – | – | –2 | – | –4 | +9 | –1 | −3 | – | +1 | – | –
Elected on 2 March 2017 | 90 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 28 | 1 | 1 | – | –
Elected on 5 May 2016 | 108 | 2 | 2 | 28 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 38 | 1 | 1 | – | –
Elected on 5 May 2011 | 108 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 38 | 1 | 1 | – | –
Elected on 7 March 2007 | 108 | – | 1 | 28 | 16 | 7 | 18 | 36 | – | 1 | 1 Prog. U. | –
Elected on 23 November 2003 | 108 | – | – | 24 | 18 | 6 | 27 | 30 | – | 1 | 1 Prog. U. | 1 UKUP
Elected on 25 June 1998 | 108 | – | – | 18 | 24 | 6 | 28 | 20 | – | 4 | 2 Prog. U. | 5 UKUP, 2 NIWC

### Share of first-preference votes

[edit]

Percentage of each constituency's first-preference votes. Absolute majorities are in bold. The constituencies are arranged in the geographic order described for the table above; click the icon next to "Constituency" to see them in alphabetical order.

The totals given here are the sum of all valid ballots cast in each constituency, and the percentages are based on such totals. The turnout percentages in the last column, however, are based upon all ballots cast, which also include anything from twenty to a thousand invalid ballots in each constituency. The total valid ballots' percentage of the eligible electorate can correspondingly differ by 0.1% to 2% from the turnout percentage.

All constituencies were five-seat constituencies, with members elected under the Single transferable vote system. The quota in each constituency was therefore approximately 16.67% of the vote in the constituency. However, in some cases, despite a party gaining more than that share of the vote, imperfect transfer discipline between candidates meant that a seat was not automatically gained.

Member of Parliament, 2019  | Constituency  | Northern Ireland Assembly seats

|
|

Party  | Proportion
of vote  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Total
votes
| Eligible
elector-
ate  | Turn-
out
PBP
| Aontú
| Sinn
Féin
| SDLP
| Green
| APNI  | UUP
| DUP
| TUV
| Ind.
| Others
| DUP | 47.4%  | North Antrim |  |  | 18.5 | 3.8 | 0.7 | 9.5 | 20.5 | 25.7 | 21.3 | 0.1 |  | 51,220 | 81,935 | 62.5%
| DUP | 45.3%  | East Antrim |  |  | 9.1 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 23.1 | 24.2 | 29.6 | 9.1 |  |  | 40,693 | 67,699 | 60.1%
| DUP | 35.3%  | South Antrim | 0.6 | 1.4 | 20.1 | 6.9 | 1.2 | 16.0 | 17.9 | 25.9 | 9.6 | 0.6 |  | 46,195 | 76,950 | 60.0%
| Sinn Féin | 47.1%  | Belfast North | 2.3 | 1.4 | 35.5 | 7.8 | 3.1 | 9.5 | 5.7 | 24.3 | 7.3 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 46,796 | 75,801 | 61.7%
| Sinn Féin | 53.8% | Belfast West | 7.5 | 4.0 | 63.7 | 5.8 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 9.5 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 44,440 | 68,727 | 64.7%
| SDLP | 57.2% | Belfast South | 1.3 | 1.7 | 20.3 | 15.8 | 8.7 | 24.9 | 6.5 | 15.4 | 4.1 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 47,306 | 73,497 | 64.4%
| DUP | 49.2%  | Belfast East | 1.2 |  | 3.2 | 1.1 | 5.3 | 32.4 | 15.2 | 32.1 | 7.1 |  | 2.4 | 43,840 | 70,123 | 62.5%
| Alliance | 45.2%  | North Down |  |  | 1.7 | 1.7 | 6.6 | 28.9 | 12.4 | 19.9 | 3.8 | 24.5 | 0.6 | 42,198 | 70,176 | 60.1%
| DUP | 47.2%  | Strangford |  |  | 3.9 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 24.1 | 15.2 | 33.8 | 12.7 | 0.3 |  | 41,345 | 70,775 | 58.4%
| DUP | 43.1%  | Lagan Valley | 0.5 |  | 5.3 | 6.3 | 1.3 | 24.3 | 19.3 | 34.7 | 6.8 | 1.4 |  | 51,543 | 81,562 | 63.2%
| DUP | 41.0%  | Upper Bann |  | 1.0 | 29.4 | 6.5 | 0.8 | 11.5 | 15.3 | 27.5 | 8.4 |  | 0.2 | 56,954 | 91,149 | 62.5%
| Sinn Féin | 32.4%  | South Down |  | 1.0 | 44.3 | 16.5 | 0.8 | 12.6 | 5.2 | 11.8 | 6.0 | 0.2 |  | 55,631 | 84,046 | 66.2%
| Sinn Féin | 40.0%  | Newry & Armagh |  | 2.0 | 47.0 | 10.6 | 0.5 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 12.9 | 9.2 | 5.4 | 0.3 | 59,693 | 87,156 | 68.5%
| Sinn Féin | 43.3%  | Fermanagh & S. Tyrone | 0.2 | 1.7 | 44.7 | 7.1 | 0.6 | 5.3 | 15.5 | 17.7 | 5.8 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 54,560 | 78,963 | 69.1%
| Sinn Féin | 40.2%  | West Tyrone | 0.8 | 1.4 | 47.0 | 11.9 | 0.6 | 6.5 | 4.1 | 14.4 | 9.1 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 46,629 | 69,702 | 66.9%
| Sinn Féin | 45.9%  | Mid Ulster | 0.4 | 2.5 | 52.7 | 10.0 | 0.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 16.5 | 7.4 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 52,274 | 75,168 | 69.5%
| SDLP | 57.0% | Foyle | 5.6 | 4.3 | 32.8 | 30.8 | 0.5 | 4.7 | 8.0 | 8.8 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 47,674 | 77,343 | 61.6%
| DUP | 40.1%  | East Londonderry | 0.8 | 2.5 | 25.6 | 8.3 | 0.8 | 7.5 | 5.9 | 26.9 | 6.7 | 13.0 | 2.1 | 44,796 | 72,959 | 61.4%
Northern Ireland | 1.1 | 1.5 | 29.0 | 9.1 | 1.9 | 13.5 | 11.2 | 21.3 | 7.6 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 873,781 | 1,373,731 | 63.6%
Change since 2017 | −0.7 | +1.5 | +1.1 | −2.8 | −0.4 | +4.4 | −1.7 | −6.8 | +5.0 | +1.1 | −1.0 | +60,998 | +119,022 | −1.2%
Election of March 2017 | 1.8 |  | 27.9 | 11.9 | 2.3 | 9.1 | 12.9 | 28.1 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 812,783 | 1,254,709 | 64.8%
Election of May 2016 | 2.0 |  | 24.0 | 12.0 | 2.7 | 7.0 | 12.6 | 29.2 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 703,744 | 1,281,595 | 54.9%
Election of May 2011 |  |  | 26.9 | 14.2 | 0.9 | 7.7 | 13.2 | 30.0 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 661,736 | 1,210,009 | 55.6%
Election of March 2007 |  |  | 26.2 | 15.2 | 1.7 | 5.2 | 14.9 | 30.1 |  | 3.8 | 2.8 | 690,313 | 1,107,904 | 62.9%
Election of Nov. 2003 |  |  | 23.5 | 17.0 | 0.4 | 3.7 | 22.7 | 25.7 |  | 5.6 | 2.8 | 692,026 | 1,097,526 | 63.1%
Election of June 1998 |  |  | 17.6 | 22.0 | 0.1 | 6.5 | 21.3 | 18.1 |  | 10.9 | 3.5 | 823,565 | 1,178,556 | 69.9%

### Incumbents defeated

[edit]

Defeated MLA  | Party  | Constituency  | New MLA  | Party  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Roy Beggs Jr |  | UUP | East Antrim | Danny Donnelly |  | Alliance | [47]
Dolores Kelly |  | SDLP | Upper Bann | Eóin Tennyson |  | Alliance | [99]
Peter Weir |  | DUP | Strangford | Nick Mathison |  | Alliance | [47]
Pat Catney |  | SDLP | Lagan Valley | David Honeyford |  | Alliance | [47]
Clare Bailey |  | Green (NI) | Belfast South | Kate Nicholl |  | Alliance | [100]
Mervyn Storey |  | DUP | North Antrim | Patricia O'Lynn |  | Alliance | [47]
Rosemary Barton |  | UUP | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | Tom Elliott |  | UUP | [47]
Nichola Mallon |  | SDLP | Belfast North | Nuala McAllister |  | Alliance | [47]
Rachel Woods |  | Green (NI) | North Down | Connie Egan |  | Alliance | [47]

## Aftermath

[edit]

Main article: 2024 Northern Ireland Executive formation

Shortly before the final results were announced, O'Neill said: "Today ushers in a new era. Irrespective of religious, political or social backgrounds, my commitment is to make politics work."[101] Donaldson stated that the Executive would not sit unless the Northern Ireland Protocol was removed. He later announced that he would not take his Assembly seat, which was co-opted by Emma Little-Pengelly,[102] and the DUP would not be nominating a Speaker until the UK government took "decisive action".[103]

The SDLP responded by accusing the DUP of treating voters with contempt and "mak[ing] our electoral process look like a bad joke".[104] Naomi Long, leader of Alliance, said DUP Assembly Members should not be allowed to claim their salary while they prevented the Assembly from functioning.[105] These disagreements continued a political crisis from before the election, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to visit Northern Ireland to discuss amendments to the Protocol.[106][107]

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refused to resume power sharing due to its stance on the protocol.[108][109] In the absence of an executive being formed, a new election should be called. However, the UK government got primary legislation passed three times to extend the deadline. Multiple negotiations with the DUP and the agreement of the Windsor Framework with the EU failed to produce a resolution.

However, on 30 January 2024, the DUP announced that it had accepted a deal (conditional on legislation being passed by the UK government) that saw it agreeing to form an executive. The Assembly first met on 3 February 2024, which saw Emma Little-Pengelly confirmed as Deputy First Minister, and Michelle O'Neill confirmed as First Minister, with a new executive formed the same day.[110][111]

## See also

[edit]

* Northern Ireland portal

Other elections in the UK that were held on the same day:

* 2022 United Kingdom local elections
* 2022 Scottish local elections
* 2022 Welsh local elections

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ O'Neill is the "Party leader in the North" and vice president. Sinn Féin's president is Mary Lou McDonald, but she is not a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, as she is Leader of the Opposition in the neighbouring Republic of Ireland and sits in the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Republic of Ireland's parliament).
2. ^ As "Party leader in the North"
3. ^ People Before Profit has a collective leadership, but for the purposes of registration to the UK Electoral Commission, Eamonn McCann is registered as the party's leader in Northern Ireland.[1]
4. ^ Taylor was suspended from the Greens on 29 April 2022, though his name still appeared on the ballot.[50]
5. ^ Originally elected as Alliance
6. ^ Originally elected as DUP

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Registration Summary". The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
2. ^ "DUP: NI First Minister Paul Givan announces resignation". BBC News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
3. ^ a b "NI election results 2022: The assembly poll in maps and charts". BBC News. 8 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
4. ^ a b McClements, Freya; Graham, Seanín; Hutton, Brian; Moriarty, Gerry (7 May 2022). "Assembly election: Sinn Féin wins most seats as parties urged to form Executive". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
5. ^ a b "NI election results 2022: Sinn Féin wins most seats in historic election". BBC News. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
6. ^ a b "NI election 2022: DUP blocks new NI government in Brexit protest". BBC News. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
7. ^ Piper, Elizabeth; Young, Sarah (1 February 2024). "UK unveils DUP deal to restore Northern Ireland government". Reuters.
8. ^ Ferguson, Amanda; Thomas, Natalie (4 February 2024). "Northern Ireland appoints Irish nationalist as First Minister in historic shift". Reuters. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
9. ^ "Northern Ireland Assembly elections put back to 2016". BBC News. 10 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
10. ^ "Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014". Legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
11. ^ "EU referendum: Northern Ireland votes to Remain". BBC News. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
12. ^ O'Leary, Brendan; Coakley, John; Garry, John (27 April 2017). "How Northern Ireland voted in the EU referendum – and what it means for border talks". The Conversation. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
13. ^ "'No revolt within DUP,' says Foster". BBC News. 6 March 2017. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017.
14. ^ "Stormont talks: Brokenshire to 'reflect' amid ongoing deadlock". BBC News. 4 July 2017. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017.
15. ^ "Talks to end NI devolution deadlock resume". BBC News. 2 January 2020. Archived from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
16. ^ Kroet, Cynthia (27 March 2017). "No Snap Election in Northern Ireland After Talks Collapse". Politico. Archived from the original on 27 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
17. ^ "Stormont talks: Direct rule or election 'if no deal'". BBC News. 12 April 2017. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
18. ^ "Stormont power-sharing talks deadline set for 29 June". BBC News. 21 April 2017. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017.
19. ^ "The moment PM called for general election". BBC News. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
20. ^ "Conservatives agree pact with DUP to support May government". BBC News. 26 June 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
21. ^ McClements, Freya (13 December 2019). "North returns more nationalist than unionist MPs for first time". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
22. ^ Gorman, Sophie (11 January 2020). "'Cautious optimism': Northern Ireland's government restored after 3-year deadlock". France 24. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
23. ^ "First Northern Ireland coronavirus case confirmed as 'drive-through' test centre set up at Antrim hospital". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
24. ^ Francis, Alannah (15 January 2022). "UK government accused of interfering in Northern Ireland assembly election with rule change". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
25. ^ McClafferty, Enda (19 January 2022). "Double jobbing: Plan to bring back dual mandate withdrawn, PM says". BBC News. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
26. ^ "Arlene Foster announces resignation as DUP leader and NI first minister". BBC News. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
27. ^ "Poots announces resignation as DUP leader". Reuters. 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
28. ^ "DUP leadership: Sir Jeffrey Donaldson ratified as party leader". BBC News. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
29. ^ "Edwin Poots 'faces difficulties' over first minister job". BBC News. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
30. ^ a b Carroll, Rory (17 June 2021). "Northern Ireland: Paul Givan becomes first minister after Irish language deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
31. ^ Smith, Ryan (8 May 2021). "Steve Aiken to resign as UUP leader". BelfastLive. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
32. ^ "Doug Beattie: Who is the new leader of the UUP?". BBC News. 17 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
33. ^ "AGREEMENT on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community". Official Journal of the European Union. Document 12020W/TXT (L 29/7). 31 January 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
34. ^ Blevins, David (9 September 2021). "DUP threatens to trigger snap election 'within weeks' if Northern Ireland Protocol remains". Sky News. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
35. ^ Walker, Stephen (15 September 2021). "SDLP leader Colum Eastwood calls for new law to stop election if Stormont fails". BBC News. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
36. ^ a b "DUP's Paul Givan resigns as Northern Ireland First Minister saying it was 'privilege of my life'". ITV News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
37. ^ Flanagan, Eimear; Edgar, Damien (3 February 2022). "DUP: NI First Minister Paul Givan announces resignation". BBC News. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
38. ^ O'Carroll, Lisa (20 April 2022). "UK will 'reform' Northern Ireland protocol if EU will not, says Rees-Mogg". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
39. ^ "No 10 could tear up NI Protocol to 'save peace'". Belfast Telegraph. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
40. ^ McCambridge, Jonathan (30 April 2022). "No return of Stormont until NI Protocol is scrapped, rally told". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
41. ^ "Sinn Féin call for early Stormont election". UTV. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
42. ^ McCormack, Jayne (5 February 2022). "DUP: Could Northern Ireland have an early election?". BBC News. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
43. ^ PA Media (8 February 2022). "Northern Ireland Secretary rules out early Stormont election". Wandsworth Times. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
44. ^ Blevins, David (8 February 2022). "Northern Ireland: Brandon Lewis rules out early elections after first minister's resignation". Sky News. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
45. ^ "'Real risk' Stormont won't return after election, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis warns". UTV. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
46. ^ a b "NI Assembly Election 5 May 2022". The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
47. ^ a b c d e f g h i Andrews, Chris (6 May 2022). "NI election results 2022: Sinn Féin tops first preference vote in NI election". BBC. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022.
48. ^ "Statements of Persons Nominated". EONI. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
49. ^ Leebody, Christopher; Campbell, Niamh (12 April 2022). "Northern Ireland Assembly elections candidates in full: Who is standing in your area?". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
50. ^ Cousins, Graeme (29 April 2022). "Green Party candidate in Mid Ulster Stefan Taylor withdraws from campaign, party retracts endorsement". The News Letter. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
51. ^ McCormack, Jayne (26 March 2022). "NI election 2022: Which MLAs are standing down from Stormont?". BBC. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
52. ^ Hughes, Brendan (22 February 2021). "Trevor Lunn MLA: I quit Alliance due to internal tensions – but I still fully support them". Belfast Live. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
53. ^ Simpson, Claire (19 May 2021). "South Down MLA Emma Rogan not chosen as Sinn Féin election candidate". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
54. ^ Manley, John (25 May 2021). "SDLP's Sinéad Bradley announces that she won't contest the next assembly election candidate". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
55. ^ Preston, Allan (5 August 2021). "Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey announces retirement". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
56. ^ Bain, Mark (29 October 2021). "Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle to step down". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
57. ^ Hughes, Brendan (2 February 2022). "DUP MLA Robin Newton 'deselected' as Assembly election candidate for East Belfast". Belfast Live. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
58. ^ Leebody, Christopher (17 March 2022). "DUP MLA George Robinson announces retirement after 18 years in Stormont". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
59. ^ Leebody, Christopher (17 March 2022). "DUP's William Humphrey announces he will not contest upcoming Stormont election". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
60. ^ Simpson, Mark (17 March 2022). "Paula Bradley: DUP deputy leader not seeking re-election". BBC News. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
61. ^ Breen, Suzanne [@SuzyJourno] (17 March 2022). "The DUP is clearly worried about Lagan Valley. It's just announced its running only 2 candidates in May. Jeffrey Donaldson & Paul Givan have been selected at a meeting of the local constituency association. Party evidently feels it's too risky to run a 3rd" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 March 2022 - via Twitter.
62. ^ Stephen Nolan [@StephenNolan] (23 March 2022). "My last day at Stormont – after nearly 30 years, @Jim_Wells_MLA says he'll miss the "cut and thrust" on the hill – "it's not the way I would have wanted it to end – politics can be brutal"" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 March 2022 - via Twitter.
63. ^ McClafferty, Enda (26 April 2022). "NI election 2022: Sinn Féin steers clear of Irish unity focus in campaign". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
64. ^ Manley, John (26 April 2022). "Sinn Féin manifesto prioritises bread and butter issues but keeps Irish unity on the agenda". The Irish News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
65. ^ Walker, Stephen (25 April 2022). "NI election 2022: Sinn Féin calls for £230 cost-of-living payment". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
66. ^ Black, Rebecca (24 April 2022). "Online threat to damage Sinn Féin billboard 'reported to police' – O'Dowd". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
67. ^ Walker, Stephen (21 April 2022). "NI election 2022: SDLP hoping history repeats itself". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
68. ^ "Assembly Election candidate attacked while on campaign trail". ITV News. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
69. ^ PA Media (24 April 2022). "SDLP leader urges tactical votes for his party to restore Stormont". Gazette Series. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
70. ^ Toner, John (24 April 2022). "Aontú would never support abortion under any circumstances, says party candidate Alixandra Halliday". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
71. ^ Campbell, Niamh (5 April 2022). "Mixed reactions to DUP's new party election broadcast as focus on Sinn Féin criticised". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
72. ^ Walker, Stephen (22 April 2022). "NI election 2022: TUV says opposing Protocol must be top priority". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
73. ^ McAdam, Noel (25 April 2022). "Blow for DUP as officers in South Down quit the party". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
74. ^ Gordon, Gareth (31 March 2022). "NI election 2022: Doug Beattie says 'no united Ireland in children's lifetime'". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
75. ^ "NI Protocol: Doug Beattie's office attack 'inevitable consequence'". BBC News. 28 March 2022.
76. ^ Hewitt, Ralph (8 April 2022). "Anger as Doug Beattie 'noose' poster is left ahead of Lurgan anti-NI Protocol rally". Belfast Telegraph.
77. ^ "Sam McBride: Alliance manifesto talks tough on Stormont reform". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
78. ^ Beacom, Stephen (25 April 2022). "Alliance leader Naomi Long: We must ensure Casement Park is built and Northern Ireland can host matches at Euro 2028". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
79. ^ McCormack, Jayne (8 April 2022). "NI election 2022: Alliance a party with high expectations". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
80. ^ Walker, Stephen (21 April 2022). "NI election 2022: Green Party punches above its weight, says leader". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
81. ^ McClafferty, Enda (21 April 2022). "NI election 2022: People Before Profit launches manifesto". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
82. ^ Ambrose, Tom (30 April 2022). "Stormont candidate 'grabbed by throat' while canvassing". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
83. ^ Sproule, Luke; McCormack, Jayne (13 April 2022). "NI election 2022: 41 poster incidents reported to police". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
84. ^ Hughes, Brendan (1 May 2022). "UTV debate: Rating the Stormont leaders' performances". BelfastLive. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
85. ^ McClafferty, Enda (3 May 2022). "NI election 2022: Leaders' debate raises energy levels of campaign". BBC News. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
86. ^ "NI election 2022: Parties clash at first leaders debate". BBC News. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
87. ^ "NI Election 2022: Party leaders to head-to-head in TV debate". BBC News. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
88. ^ "DUP leadership: Sir Jeffrey Donaldson ratified as party leader". BBC News. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
89. ^ "Doug Beattie is elected new leader of Ulster Unionist Party". BBC News. 17 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
90. ^ "Edwin Poots is elected DUP leader". BBC News. 14 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
91. ^ "Brexit: UK leaves the European Union". BBC News. 1 February 2020. Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
92. ^ "Deal To See Restored Government In Northern Ireland Tomorrow". GOV.UK. 9 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
93. ^ General Election 2019: results and analysis (PDF) (2 ed.). London: House of Commons Library. 2020. p. 37\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
94. ^ "Steve Aiken becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party". BBC News. 9 November 2019. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
95. ^ European Parliament Elections 2019: results and analysis (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 2019. p. 42\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
96. ^ "Northern Ireland local elections 2019". BBC News. 5 May 2019. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
97. ^ "Northern Ireland Assembly Election Results 2022". BBC. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
98. ^ Kildea, Jeff (10 June 2022). "Who Won the Elections for Northern Ireland Assembly?". Tinteán. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
99. ^ Stewart, Amy; Sheils McNamee, Michael; Lawrence, Jessica; Sproule, Luke (6 May 2022). "NI election results 2022: Alliance Party surges as Sinn Féin leads pack". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
100. ^ Black, Rebecca (7 May 2022). "Alliance gain seat in South Belfast as Green Party leader loses out". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
101. ^ McCambridge, Jonathan (12 May 2022). "Michelle O'Neill: Assembly election result ushers in new era". The Independent. London. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
102. ^ Harte, Lauren (12 May 2022). "Former DUP MP Emma Little-Pengelly named as new MLA for Lagan Valley". BelfastLive. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
103. ^ Graham, Seanín; McClements, Freya (12 May 2022). "Return of Northern Ireland Assembly set to be blocked by DUP". The Irish Times.
104. ^ Breen, Suzanne (13 May 2022). "DUP leader accused of treating voters with 'contempt' as Emma Little-Pengelly returns to fill Donaldson's seat at Stormont". Belfasttelegraph. Retrieved 13 May 2022 - via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
105. ^ O'Carroll, Rory (13 May 2022). "DUP condemned for paralysing Stormont as protocol row deepens". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
106. ^ "Boris Johnson to visit Belfast as regional political crisis deepens". Financial Times. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
107. ^ McCambridge, Jonathan; Black, Rebecca (13 May 2022). "Boris Johnson to visit Northern Ireland amid political crisis". BelfastLive. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
108. ^ O'Carroll, Lisa (22 September 2022). "Northern Ireland power sharing slips to 2023 as few relish a winter election". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
109. ^ "NI election looms as Stormont deadline passes". BBC News. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
110. ^ "Northern Ireland: New deal means goods will flow freely throughout UK – Jeffrey Donaldson". BBC News. 30 January 2024.
111. ^ "Stormont: Michelle O'Neill makes history as nationalist first minister". BBC News. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.

## External links

[edit]

2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election manifestos:

* Democratic Unionist Party (5- Point Plan)
* Sinn Féin (English) (Irish/Gaeilge)
* Social Democratic and Labour Party
* Ulster Unionist Party
* Alliance Party
* Green Party Northern Ireland
* People Before Profit
* Traditional Unionist Voice

* v
* t
* e

Elections and referendums in Northern Ireland

NI Parliament elections|

* 1921
* 1925
* 1929
* 1933
* 1938
* 1945
* 1949
* 1953
* 1958
* 1962
* 1965
* 1969

Ad-hoc elections|

* 1973
* 1975
* 1982
* 1996

Assembly elections|

* 1998
* 2003
* 2007
* 2011
* 2016
* 2017
* 2022
* Next

European elections|

* 1979
* 1984
* 1989
* 1994
* 1999
* 2004
* 2009
* 2014
* 2019

Local elections|

* 1924
* 1936
* 1946
* 1949
* 1952
* 1955
* 1958
* 1961
* 1964
* 1967
* 1973
* 1977
* 1981
* 1985
* 1989
* 1993
* 1997
* 2001
* 2005
* 2011
* 2014
* 2019
* 2023

Referendums|

* 1973
* 1998

UK general elections|

* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1929
* 1931
* 1935
* 1945
* 1950
* 1951
* 1955
* 1959
* 1964
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974 (Feb)
* 1974 (Oct)
* 1979
* 1983
* 1987
* 1992
* 1997
* 2001
* 2005
* 2010
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2024

* v
* t
* e

Northern Ireland Assembly

Assembly|

* Speaker
* Assembly Commission
* Acts
* Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA)
* Parliament Buildings
* Commissioner for Standards at the Northern Ireland Assembly
* Clerk of the Northern Ireland Assembly

Committees|

* Executive Office
* Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
* Communities
* Economy
* Education
* Finance
* Health
* Infrastructure
* Justice

Constituencies|

* Belfast East
* Belfast North
* Belfast South
* Belfast West
* East Antrim
* East Londonderry
* Fermanagh and South Tyrone
* Foyle
* Lagan Valley
* Mid Ulster
* Newry and Armagh
* North Antrim
* North Down
* South Antrim
* South Down
* Strangford
* Upper Bann
* West Tyrone

Parties|

Current:

* Alliance
* Democratic Unionist
* People Before Profit
* Sinn Féin
* Social Democratic and Labour
* Traditional Unionist Voice
* Ulster Unionist

Elections|

* 1998
* 2003
* 2007
* 2011
* 2016
* 2017
* 2022
* Next

Members|

* 1st Assembly (1998–03)
* 2nd Assembly (2006–07)
* 3rd Assembly (2007–11)
* 4th Assembly (2011–16)
* 5th Assembly (2016–17)
* 6th Assembly (2017–22)
* 7th Assembly (2022)

Procedure|

* Cross-community vote

See also|

* Sunningdale Agreement
* Anglo-Irish Agreement
* Good Friday Agreement
* St Andrews Agreement
* Hillsborough Castle Agreement
* Stormont House Agreement
* New Decade, New Approach

*[MLA]: Member of legislative assembly
*[Ref.]: Reference
*[Ind.]: Independent
*[Ind. U.]: Independent unionist
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template