The Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein has won the largest number of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time.
With almost all votes counted from Thursday’s election, Sinn Fein has secured 27 of the assembly’s 90 seats. The Democratic Unionist Party has 24. The historic win means Sinn Fein is entitled to the post of first minister in Belfast. It’s a first for a nationalist party since Northern Ireland was founded as a Protestant-majority state in 1921. Sinn Fein seeks a united Ireland and has long been linked to the Irish Republican Army.
“Today ushers in a new era,” Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O’Neill said shortly before the final results were announced. “Irrespective of religious, political or social backgrounds, my commitment is to make politics work.” While the Sinn Fein win signals a historic shift that shows diminishing support for unionist parties, it’s far from clear what happens next because of Northern Ireland’s complicated power-sharing politics and ongoing tussles over post-Brexit arrangements.
But the rules angered many unionists, who maintain that the new checks have created a barrier between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. that undermines their British identity. In February, the DUP’s Paul Givan resigned as first minister in protest against the arrangements, triggering a a fresh political crisis in Northern Ireland.
The U.K.’s Secretary for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, said he will meet with all party leaders in the coming days and urge them to get back to the business of government quickly.