NI election results 2022: Governments urge parties to reform executive

The US, UK and Irish governments have urged political parties in Northern Ireland to re-establish a devolved administration.

Sinn Féin secured the most seats in the assembly election, a first for a nationalist party in Northern Ireland.

Deputy leader Michelle O’Neill says the party will be at Stormont on Monday, ready to form an executive.

Ms O’Neill is in line to become first minister, but that is dependent on the DUP nominating a deputy first minister.

She said “other parties” need to be ready to form an executive and that there should be “no excuses” or “time wasting”.

Northern Ireland has been without a power-sharing executive for several months after the DUP collapsed the institutions as part of its protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol – part of the Brexit deal.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said he would be meeting party leaders over the coming days and would urge them to restore the Stormont institutions, starting with the nomination of an assembly speaker within eight days.

While the office of the first and deputy first minister is an equal one with joint power, the allocation of the titles is regarded as symbolically important.

Although Sinn Féin can now nominate a first minister, they cannot take up the office unless the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – the biggest party from the unionist bloc – agrees to nominate a deputy first minister.

Its leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has not yet made a decision on whether the party will do that.

On Saturday, Sir Jeffrey said his party would respect the result of the election, however there needed to be changes made to the protocol.

The US State Department called on the parties “to take the necessary steps to re-establish a power-sharing executive”.

“Critical and immediate challenges concerning the economy, health, and education are best addressed through the collective efforts of a devolved government chosen by, and accountable to, its people,” spokesperson Ned Price said.

Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin said it was “incumbent” on all elected representatives to deliver on their mandate through the nomination of a first and deputy first minister.

“A new power-sharing executive is vital for progress and prosperity for all in Northern Ireland,” he added.

A unionist party had always been the largest in the assembly, and previously the Stormont Parliament, since the formation of Northern Ireland in 1921.

For Sinn Féin to be installed in the role of first minister, the majority of unionist assembly members have to agree to form a power-sharing coalition.

In her acceptance speech, Michelle O’Neill said: “The executive needs to be formed immediately. The people cannot wait. People struggling with the cost of living are relying on us to get on with things and do our jobs.   

“I have written to all party leaders proposing that we come together on Monday at Stormont and get down to business. Our collective task is to work together to solve the problems facing this society.”

The executive is at the heart of Northern Ireland’s devolved government, made up of ministers nominated to oversee key departments such as health, finance and justice.

For the first time, the Alliance Party has become the third-biggest in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The centre-ground party won 17 seats – up from the eight it won in 2017 – and 13.5% of first preference votes.

The party took a number of seats in the assembly election at the expense of the DUP and Social Democratic Unionist Party (SDLP).

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has said he believes that in some areas his party’s supporters also “lent their votes to Sinn Féin”.

“I think 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,” he told BBC News NI.

Sinn Féin’s ultimate goal is for Northern Ireland to leave the UK and become one country with the Republic of Ireland, but that does not mean a border poll is imminent.

More than a third of the MLAs elected to the assembly are women.

Thirty-two of the 90 MLAs are female, compared with 27 who were elected in 2017.