Northern Ireland election: Sinn Féin faces historic victory

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Sinn Féin politician O'Neill, party friends: "Very important moment of change"

Photo: PAUL FAITH / AFP

The pro-British DUP party on Saturday conceded a historic electoral defeat to Ireland-leaning Catholic-nationalist Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland's recent regional elections.

"Right now it looks like Sinn Féin will emerge as the strongest party (from the elections)," DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson told Sky News.

The votes cast in Thursday's election were still being counted on Saturday.

Already on Friday, however, a victory for Sinn Féin became apparent.

It would be the first time in the British continent's 100-year history that the party fighting for reunification with the Republic of Ireland would become the strongest force.

This is not yet a vote for an early unity of Ireland.

But possibly a significant step there.

Sinn Féin top candidate Michelle O'Neill spoke of a "new era" that is now beginning.

"This is a very important moment of change today," she said.

The 45-year-old celebrated the announcement of the results in her constituency of Mid Ulster in Magherafelt in the afternoon, surrounded by flashbulbs and thunderous applause from her party colleagues.

»I will offer leadership that is inclusive, that celebrates diversity, that guarantees rights and equality for those who have been excluded, discriminated against or ignored in the past.«

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However, O'Neill's formation of a government is likely to be difficult.

According to the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, the regional government in Belfast must be led jointly by Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists.

However, Donaldson reiterated on Saturday that his DUP would not be available until the British government in London took action against the Brexit trade deal with the EU, which gives Northern Ireland special status.

"The Brexit deal and the Good Friday deal are incompatible," influential Northern Ireland DUP MP Edwin Poots told the BBC on Saturday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government must decide whether to place the agreement with the EU over the peace process in the region.

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A final result was expected on Saturday.

It is expected that Sinn Féin will win the majority of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly, giving it the right to nominate the future Prime Minister (First Minister).

Sinn Féin was once considered the political arm of the IRA (Irish Republican Army), which fought at gunpoint to unite the two parts of Ireland.

So far, the office of First Minister has always been held by politicians who advocated maintaining the union with Great Britain.

However, the issue of Irish unity played only a minor role in the election campaign.

Instead, Sinn Fein focused on social issues such as the rising cost of living and health.

O'Neill announced that she wanted to focus primarily on these issues as the future head of government.

At the same time, she called for a broad social debate on Irish unity.

"Let's all work together on a common plan," O'Neill said.

In the run-up to the elections, the DUP had to prepare for serious losses.

On the one hand, it is likely to lose votes to the TUV (Traditional Unionist Voice), which is even more radically opposed to the EU's Northern Ireland Protocol, and on the other hand, a number of former DUP voters will probably do their cross with the Alliance Party this time.

The non-denominational party wants to put the dispute between supporters and opponents of Irish unification behind it and is likely to have done well in the election.

bor/dpa/AFP