The victory of the nationalist party Sinn Fein could provoke a major political crisis and hinder the British government.
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Historic, the North Irish election of May 5 is undoubtedly. For the first time in the history of this Nation of the United Kingdom in the agitated past, a nationalist party favorable to the reunification of the island of Ireland came first in the elections aimed at renewing the Assembly of Stormont, the Parliament North Irish. Sinn Fein obtained 27 deputies, against 25 for the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party), the main Unionist party, attached to maintaining the United Kingdom (out of a total of 90 for the Stormont assembly). Since its creation, in 1921, Northern Ireland had always been dominated politically and sociologically by the Unionists, mainly Protestants; The nationalists are essentially Catholic.
“We are entering a new era”, welcomed Saturday, May 7 at the end of the counting Michelle O’Neill, the vice-president of Sinn Fein, in the process of becoming the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland . However, the teaching of this ballot presents paradoxes. In the short term, it will most likely cause a political crisis in Belfast and a paralysis of the North Irish executive. On Saturday, Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, confirmed that his party will refuse to appoint an assistant Prime Minister until the British government has substantially renegotiated the North Irish protocol, this part of the Brexit Treaty signed between London and Brussels establishing a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, and which the Unionists consider it an affront to their British identity.
Now, under the Good Friday agreement, which, in 1998, ended thirty years of civil war between nationalists and unionists, the two communities are forced to govern together. The Prime Minister is appointed among the deputies of the first party who came to the lead in the elections. The assistant position to the chief executive returns to an elected official from the opposite community. The other training courses are distributed the posts of minister according to their performance. If the DUP refuses to play this democratic game complex, and that an executive is not constituted in the twenty-four weeks following the formation of the Stormont assembly, new elections will have to be summoned. In the meantime, the assembly alone will not be able to adopt laws, in particular the voting of the budget of the nation.
As of Saturday, the pressure increased on the DUP so that he renounces his hindrance tactic, his “hostage -taking” of Northern Ireland as Michelle O’Neill had launched some days before the ballot. Brandon Lewis, the Minister to Northern Ireland of the British government, called on the North Irish parties to “form an executive as soon as possible. (…) Voters have clearly claimed a fully functional government”.
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