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2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election

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2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election
← 2007 5 May 2011 2016 →

All 108 seats to the Northern Ireland Assembly
Turnout55.7% (Decrease6.6)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Peter Robinson 2013 (cropped).jpg
MartinMcGuinness2012.jpg
Tom Elliott.png
Leader Peter Robinson Martin McGuinness [a] Tom Elliott
Party DUP Sinn Féin UUP
Leader since 31 May 2008 8 May 2007 22 September 2010
Leader's seat Belfast East Mid Ulster Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Last election 36 seats, 30.1% 28 seats, 26.2% 18 seats, 14.9%
Seats won 38 29 16
Seat change Increase2 Increase1 Decrease2
Popular vote 198,436 178,224 87,531
Percentage 30.0% 26.9% 13.2%
Swing Decrease0.1% Increase0.7% Decrease1.7%

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
margaret ritchie.jpg
DavidFordAlliance.jpg
JimAllister (cropped).jpg
Leader Margaret Ritchie David Ford Jim Allister
Party SDLP Alliance TUV
Leader since 7 February 2010 6 October 2001 7 December 2007
Leader's seat South Down South Antrim North Antrim
Last election 16 seats, 15.2% 7 seats, 5.2% Not established
Seats won 14 8 1
Seat change Decrease2 Increase1 Increase1
Popular vote 94,286 50,875 16,480
Percentage 14.2% 7.7% 2.5%
Swing Decrease1.0% Increase2.5% New party

  Seventh party
 
Steven Agnew MLA 2016.png
Leader Steven Agnew
Party Green (NI)
Leader since 10 January 2011
Leader's seat North Down
Last election 1 seat, 1.7%
Seats won 1
Seat change Steady 0
Popular vote 6,031
Percentage 0.9%
Swing Decrease 0.8%

Election results. Voters elect 6 assembly members from the 18 constituencies.

First Minister and
deputy First Minister
before election

Peter Robinson (DUP) &
Martin McGuinness (SF)

First Minister and
deputy First Minister
after election

Peter Robinson (DUP) &
Martin McGuinness (SF)

The 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday, 5 May, following the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly at midnight on 24 March 2011. It was the fourth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998.

It was held on the same day as elections for Northern Ireland's 26 local councils, the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections, a number of local elections in England and the United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum. As in the past, the 2011 election to the Assembly was conducted using the single transferable vote (STV) system of proportional representation. The 108 seats were contested in 18 constituencies by 218 candidates, including 15 independents and the nominees of 14 separate political parties.

1,210,009 individuals were registered to vote in the 2011 Assembly election (representing an increase of 9.2% compared to the 2007 Assembly election).[1][2] Turnout in the 2011 Assembly election was 55.7%, a decline of almost seven percentage points from the previous Assembly election and down over 14 percentage points from the first election to the Assembly in 1998.

As in the 2007 election, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin (SF) remained the two largest parties in the Assembly, with the DUP winning 38 and Sinn Féin winning 29 of the Assembly's 108 seats. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) won 16 seats, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) 14 and the Alliance 8, while one seat each was won by the Green Party, Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) and an independent candidate.

Following the results of the election, Peter Robinson of the DUP and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin were nominated and subsequently re-elected as First Minister and deputy First Minister on 12 May 2011. The sole change to the Northern Ireland Executive was that the UUP lost a ministerial post to the Alliance.

Overview

[edit]

The election was the first since the devolution of policing and justice powers to the assembly. In contrast to previous elections, it was relatively uncontroversial. The turnout was one of the lowest ever in a Northern Ireland election. Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party both continued to make gains, although the DUP vote share was slightly down. The election was a disaster for the Ulster Unionist Party, which came behind the Social Democratic and Labour Party in terms of first preference vote, although the UUP won more seats. The Ulster Unionist vote collapsed in Belfast, where it was eclipsed by the Alliance Party's, and in a number of other constituencies considered safe such as North Down.[3] The election was also poor for the SDLP, which lost two seats.

The Alliance Party performed well, gaining a second seat in East Belfast (which a former Progressive Unionist Party member lost and the PUP failed to regain), while increasing the Alliance vote share significantly. Traditional Unionist Voice secured a single seat in North Antrim; its vote share was down from the May 2010 elections to the UK Parliament. Despite their first preference vote halving, the Green Party held their sole seat in North Down while the People before Profit Alliance narrowly failed to take the final seat in the Foyle constituency. The only member elected as an independent in 2007 (in West Tyrone) retired, leaving a single independent in the new Assembly (after three independents first elected on other tickets had retired or lost re-election), compared to five at the end of the previous one.

Results

[edit]
Result by constituencies

As in the previous Assembly, the DUP's voting strength was reduced by one with the re-election on 12 May of Willie Hay (DUP, Foyle) to the non-partisan office of Speaker.[4][5]

Ten seats on the Northern Ireland Executive were filled by the new Assembly on 16 May according to party strength under the d'Hondt method of proportional representation.

In addition, in separate votes on 12 and 16 May, the Assembly as a whole re-elected party leaders David Ford (Alliance), Peter Robinson (DUP) and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) to their seats on the Executive as, respectively, Minister of Justice and First Minister and deputy First Minister. Thus the Executive's total membership, as in the past, is 13.[6][7]

Numbers as reported by Wednesday, 11 May 2011.

PartyVotes%+/–Seats
Assembly+/–Executive+/–
Democratic Unionist Party198,43629.99-0.138+24
Sinn Féin178,22226.93+0.729+13
Social Democratic and Labour Party94,28614.25-1.014-21
Ulster Unionist Party87,53113.23-1.716-21-1
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland50,8757.69+2.58+11+1
Traditional Unionist Voice16,4802.49New1+1
Green Party in Northern Ireland6,0310.91-0.81
People Before Profit Alliance5,4380.82+0.7
United Kingdom Independence Party4,1520.63+0.4
Progressive Unionist Party1,4930.23-0.4-1
British National Party1,2520.19New
Workers' Party1,1550.17+0.1
Socialist Party8190.12+0.1
Pro Capitalism290.00New
Independent15,5352.35-0.51
Total661,734100.001080100
Source: [8]

Constituency results

[edit]

Distribution of seats by constituency

[edit]

Party affiliation of the six Assembly members returned by each constituency.[9][10][11] The first column indicates the party of the Member of the House of Commons (MP) returned by the corresponding parliamentary constituency in the general election of 6 May 2010 (under the "first past the post" method).[12]

(The constituencies are arranged here in rough geographical order around Lough Neagh from Antrim to Londonderry. To see them in alphabetical order, click the small square icon after "Constituency"; to restore this geographical order, click the icon after "No." at the left.)

No. 2010 MP Constituency Candi-
dates
Total
seats
Green
Sinn
Féin
SDLP
Alli-
ance
UUP
DUP
TUV
Ind.
Seat
gained
by
Seat
lost
by
1 DUP North Antrim 11 6 - 1 - - 1 3 1 - TUV SDLP
2 DUP East Antrim 13 6 - 1 - 1 1 3 - - SF UUP
3 DUP South Antrim 10 6 - 1 - 1 1 3 - - DUP SDLP
4 DUP Belfast North 11 6 - 2 1 - - 3 - - DUP UUP
5
SF
Belfast West 14 6 - 5 1 - - - - - - -
6 SDLP Belfast South 14 6 - 1 2 1 1 1 - - - -
7 APNI Belfast East 17 6 - - - 2 1 3 - - APNI PUP
8 Ind. North Down 13 6 1 - - 1 1 3 - - DUP UUP
9 DUP Strangford 11 6 - - - 1 2 3 - - UUP DUP
10 DUP Lagan Valley 11 6 - - - 1 1 4 - - DUP SF
11 DUP Upper Bann 12 6 - 1 1 - 2 2 - - - -
12 SDLP South Down 11 6 - 2 2 - 1 1 - - - -
13
SF
Newry and Armagh 11 6 - 3 1 - 1 1 - - - -
14
SF
Fermanagh & South Tyrone 11 6 - 3 - - 1 2 - - SF SDLP
15
SF
West Tyrone 11 6 - 3 1 - 1 1 - -
SDLP
UUP
Ind
DUP
16
SF
Mid Ulster 13 6 - 3 1 - 1 1 - - - -
17 SDLP Foyle 12 6 - 2 3 - - 1 - - - -
18 DUP East Londonderry 12 6 - 1 1 - - 3 - 1 Ind UUP
18 Total 218 108 1 29 14 8 16 38 1 1
  Change since dissolution - - - +2 –2 +1 - +2 +1 –4
  Assembly at dissolution - 108 1 27 16 7 16 36 - 5 -
  Change during Assembly term - - - –1 - - –2 - - +4 –1 Prog. U.
  Elected on 7 March 2007 256 108 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.[13] Four highest percentages in each constituency shaded; absolute majorities underlined. 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.]
No. 2015
MP
MP's %
of 2015
vote
Constituency Green
Sinn
Féin
SDLP
Alli-
ance
UUP
DUP
TUV
Ind.
Others.
Total
votes
Eligible
elector-
ate
Turn-
out
 %
1 DUP 46.4% North Antrim 15.3 9.1 4.6 11.7 47.6 11.6 40,313 74,760 54.8%
2 DUP 45.9% East Antrim 2.3 8.2 4.6 15.5 16.9 46.2 4.6 1.8 29,023 61,617 47.8%
3 DUP 33.9% South Antrim 14.5 10.6 14.2 17.8 38.3 3.4 1.3 32,164 65,231 50.1%
4 DUP 40.0% Belfast North 31.9 12.0 6.3 8.2 37.1 1.0 3.5 33,470 68,119 50.3%
5 SF 71.1% Belfast West 66.1 13.2 1.1 4.2 7.5 7.6 0.4 34,647 61,520 57.9%
6 SDLP 41.0% Belfast South 2.8 12.5 23.9 19.8 13.6 24.3 3.2 32,308 62,484 52.4%
7 All. 37.2% Belfast East 1.8 3.2 0.8 26.3 9.7 44.1 2.2 6.6 5.4 32,347 61,263 53.6%
8 Ind. 63.3% North Down 7.9 1.0 2.7 18.6 10.4 44.2 2.2 13.0 28,098 62,170 45.9%
9 DUP 45.9% Strangford 3.0 8.5 14.4 20.4 48.8 2.8 2.0 29,668 62,178 48.5%
10 DUP 49.8% Lagan Valley 1.7 3.4 6.1 12.4 20.4 53.1 2.9 35,487 67,532 53.1%
11 DUP 33.8% Upper Bann 27.2 11.4 6.5 24.6 27.1 2.4 0.6 42,362 77,905 55.3%
12 SDLP 48.5% South Down 2.7 30.9 35.8 2.1 10.6 12.5 5.6 41,726 73,240 58.1%
13 SF 42.0% Newry & Armagh 40.8 23.5 1.6 18.7 13.1 1.8 0.2 0.2 46,514 77,544 61.3%
14 SF 45.5% Fermanagh & S. Tyrone 40.3 9.6 1.8 19.3 24.4 2.6 2.1 47,999 70,985 69.0%
15 SF 48.4% West Tyrone 50.2 8.6 2.2 10.3 23.1 5.7 39,303 62,970 64.0%
16 SF 52.0% Mid Ulster 49.2 14.7 0.9 10.3 16.7 4.9 0.6 2.7 42,738 66,602 65.3%
17 SDLP 44.7% Foyle 34.0 35.3 0.9 18.4 8.0 3.4 38,847 68,663 56.6%
18 DUP 34.6% East Londonderry 21.1 14.9 5.5 8.4 36.9 4.5 8.6 34,722 65,226 54.1%
18   Northern Ireland 0.9 26.9 14.2 7.7 13.2 30.0 2.5 2.2 2.3 661,736 1,210,009 55.6%
Change since 2007 –0.8 +0.8 –1.0 +2.5 –1.7 –0.1 +2.5 –1.6 –0.5 –28,577 +102,105 –7.2%
Election of March 2007 1.7 26.2 15.2 5.2 14.9 30.1 3.8 2.8 690,313 1,107,904 62.9%
Election of Nov. 2003 0.4 23.5 17.0 3.7 22.7 25.7 5.6 2.8 692,026 1,097,526 63.1%
Election of June 1998 0.1 17.6 22.0 6.5 21.3 18.1 10.9 3.5 823,565 1,178,556 69.9%

Votes cast for minor parties and independents

[edit]

Out of the 22 candidates from the seven parties which won no seats in 2011, the four candidates who won more than 1,000 first-preference votes (and more than 4% of the total first preferences) in their respective constituencies were:

  1. Eamonn McCann of the People Before Profit Alliance in Foyle: 3,120 (8.0%),
  2. Henry Reilly of the UK Independence Party in South Down: 2,332 (5.6%),
  3. Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit in Belfast West: 1,661 (4.8%), and
  4. Brian Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party in Belfast East: 1,493 (4.6%)[14]

Three-fifths, or 8,606 (60%), of the 14,338 first preferences cast for the seven minor parties went to these four candidates.

Of the 15 independent candidates, running in 9 separate constituencies, the 8 who won more than 1,000 first-preference votes (and over 2.5% of the first-preference total) were:

  1. David McClarty, MLA, formerly Ulster Unionist, re-elected in East Londonderry: 3,003 (8.6%),
  2. Alan McFarland, MLA, formerly Ulster Unionist, defeated in North Down: 1,879 (6.7%),
  3. Alan Chambers, also losing in North Down: 1,765 (6.3%),
  4. Dawn Purvis, MLA, formerly Progressive Unionist, defeated in Belfast East (see above): 1,702 (5.3%),
  5. Paul McFadden in Foyle: 1,280 (3.3%),
  6. Raymond McCord in Belfast North: 1,176 (3.5%),
  7. Paddy McGowan in West Tyrone: 1,145 (2.9%), and
  8. Eugene McMenamin, also in West Tyrone: 1,096 (2.8%)

A majority (8,395 or 54%) of the 15,535 first-preference votes cast for independents went to the first four of these candidates, three of whom had been elected by other parties in 2007. David McClarty was the only successful independent candidate.

Seats changing hands

[edit]
  • The Alliance gained a seat in Belfast East (from Dawn Purvis, an independent elected as a Progressive Unionist). Net gain +1.
  • The Democratic Unionist Party gained seats from the UUP in Belfast North and North Down, but lost one to the UUP in Strangford. The DUP also gained seats in the Lagan Valley (from SF) and South Antrim (from SDLP), but lost a seat in West Tyrone (to UUP or SDLP). Net gain +2.
  • An independent elected in 2007 from West Tyrone did not run again in 2011 (seat won by SDLP or DUP). An Ulster Unionist elected in 2007 from East Londonderry, who was not re-nominated by his party, won election in 2011 as an independent. (After his re-election, he decided to remain an independent outside the UUP.)[15][16] Three other independents elected in 2007 by different parties were not returned in 2011: a former Ulster Unionist in North Down (to DUP), a former Progressive Unionist in Belfast East (to Alliance), and a former Sinn Féin member in Fermanagh & South Tyrone (regained by SF). No net change from 2007; net change from the outgoing Assembly: –4.
  • The Progressive Unionist Party elected a single member in 2007 from East Belfast who resigned from the party in 2010 (and whose seat was gained by the Alliance in 2011). The PUP failed to elect its only candidate in 2011. Net change from 2007 –1; no net change from the outgoing Assembly.
  • Sinn Féin gained seats in East Antrim (from UUP) and Fermanagh & South Tyrone (from SDLP), but lost one in the Lagan Valley (to DUP). It also regained a second seat in Fermanagh & South Tyrone that had been held by an independent originally elected as Sinn Féin. Net gain +2 from the outgoing Assembly and +1 from 2007.
  • The Social Democratic & Labour Party gained a seat from West Tyrone (from Ind. or DUP) but lost seats in Fermanagh & South Tyrone (to SF), North Antrim (to Traditional Unionist Voice) and South Antrim (to DUP). Net loss –2.
  • Traditional Unionist Voice won its first and only seat, in North Antrim (from the SDLP). Net gain +1.
  • The Ulster Unionist Party gained seats in Strangford (from DUP) and West Tyrone (from DUP or Ind.), but lost seats in Belfast North (to DUP) and East Antrim (to SF). Another two members elected as Ulster Unionists in North Down and East Londonderry left the UUP before the 2011 election. Net loss from 2007: –2. (No net change from the outgoing Assembly.)

Turnover in members since 2007

[edit]

Thirty-one members of the previous Assembly during all of part of its term (2007–2011) did not offer themselves for re-election in May 2011. Another eight who did seek re-election were unsuccessful.

Members who left during the previous Assembly's term

[edit]

Several of the 14 members who retired early from the Northern Ireland Assembly did so either after being elected or re-elected to the British House of Commons on 6 May 2010 (as MPs), or else in anticipation of being elected to the Dáil Éireann (lower house of the Irish parliament) on 25 February 2011 (as a TD). [Three retired or retiring members are Privy Counsellors of the United Kingdom (PC).]

Name Title in
2011
Party Assembly
constituency
Left Assembly Successor Successor
returned?
George Dawson [deceased] DUP East Antrim 7 May 2007 Alastair Ian Ross yes
David Burnside UUP South Antrim 1 June 2009 Danny Kinahan yes
Francie Brolly Sinn Féin East Londonderry 11 December 2009 Billy Leonard did not run (SF hold)
Iris Robinson DUP Strangford 12 January 2010 Jonathan Bell yes
Carmel Hanna SDLP Belfast South 15 January 2010 Conall McDevitt yes
Jeffrey Donaldson MP, PC DUP Lagan Valley 10 June 2010 Paul Givan yes
Ian Paisley (junior) MP DUP North Antrim 21 June 2010 Paul Frew yes
David Simpson MP DUP Upper Bann 1 July 2010 Sidney Anderson yes
William McCrea MP DUP South Antrim 1 July 2010 Paul Girvan yes
Naomi Long MP Alliance Belfast East 5 July 2010 Chris Lyttle yes
Jim Shannon MP DUP Strangford 1 August 2010 Simpson Gibson did not run (UUP gain)
Nigel Dodds MP, PC DUP Belfast North 10 September 2010 William Humphrey yes
Mark Durkan MP SDLP Foyle 9 November 2010 Pól Callaghan not elected (SDLP hold)
Gerry Adams TD Sinn Féin Belfast West 7 December 2010 Pat Sheehan yes

Changes in membership at the election

[edit]

These are the 25 changes in membership that occurred between the third Assembly's dissolution in March 2011 and the fourth Assembly's election in May. Seventeen sitting members did not present themselves for re-election and another eight were defeated at the polls. One re-elected member had been elected with a different affiliation in 2007.

The numbers indicate the percentage of votes each member received in the first round of counting under the Single Transferable Vote in the 2011 election, and the round which decided his or her election or defeat.

In some constituencies (Foyle, West Tyrone and Fermanagh & South Tyrone), it is not possible to couple a single outgoing member by party with a single successor. The pairs of outgoing and incoming members in those seats are presented in arbitrary order.

Changes in membership without a change in party

[edit]

Most of these changes occurred due to a member's retirement, although one defeated member of the SDLP, in Foyle, was succeeded by another member of the SDLP.

Outgoing member(s) Party 1st
pref.
Round
Constituency New member(s) Party 1st
pref.
Round
Billy Armstrong (retiring) Ulster Unionist Mid Ulster Sandra Overend UUP 10.3% 6
P. J. Bradley (retiring) SDLP South Down Karen McKevitt SDLP 9.0% 9
Pól Callaghan
[replaced Mark Durkan, MP]
Mary Bradley (retiring)
SDLP 6.8%
 
4
 
Foyle Mark H. Durkan
Colum Eastwood
SDLP 12.8%
7.6%
4
7
Wallace Browne (retiring)
Baron Browne of Belmont
Democratic Unionist Belfast East Sammy Douglas DUP 8.3% 11
Robert Coulter (retiring) Ulster Unionist North Antrim Robin Swann UUP 6.2% 9
Reg Empey (retiring)
Lord Empey
Ulster Unionist Belfast East Michael Copeland UUP 6.8% 11
Billy Leonard (retiring)
[replaced Francie Brolly]
Sinn Féin (suspended) East Londonderry Cathal Ó hOisín Sinn Féin 13.5% 6
Claire McGill (retiring) Sinn Féin West Tyrone Michaela Boyle Sinn Féin 12.9% 4
Seán Neeson (retiring) Alliance East Antrim Stewart Dickson Alliance 10.0% 9
Ian Paisley, PC (retiring)
Lord Bannside
Democratic Unionist North Antrim David McIlveen DUP 8.1% 8
George Savage (retiring) Ulster Unionist Upper Bann Jo-Anne Dobson UUP 7.9% 7
Brian Wilson (retiring) Green Party in Northern Ireland North Down Steven Agnew Green 7.9% 11

Seats changing hands between the parties

[edit]

Note that the party changes in Lagan Valley, Strangford and East Antrim cancelled each other out.

Outgoing member(s) Party 1st
pref
Round
Constituency
New member(s)
Party 1st
pref
Round
Allan Bresland
Kieran Deeny (retiring)
Democratic Unionist
Independent
10.3%
0
West Tyrone Ross Hussey
Joe Byrne
UUP
SDLP
10.4%
8.5%
5
Thomas Burns SDLP 10.6% 0 South Antrim Pam Lewis DUP 8.9% 4
Fred Cobain Ulster Unionist 8.2% 7 Belfast North Paula Bradley DUP 10.4% 6
Tommy Gallagher
Gerry McHugh (retiring)
SDLP
Ind. (elected as SF)
9.6%
6
Fermanagh &
South Tyrone
Seán Lynch
Phil Flanagan
Sinn Féin 10.7%
10.6%
6
David McClarty Ind. (elected as UUP) 8.6% 7 East Londonderry David McClarty Independent 8.6% 7
Alan McFarland Ind. (elected as UUP) 6.7% 9 North Down Gordon Dunne DUP 13.3% 2
Declan O'Loan SDLP 9.1% 9 North Antrim Jim Allister Trad. U. Voice 10.1% 9
Dawn Purvis Ind. (elected as Prog. U.) 5.3% 11 Belfast East Judith Cochrane Alliance 13.4% 7
Paul Butler (retiring) Sinn Féin Lagan Valley Brenda Hale DUP 8.2% 7
Simpson Gibson (retiring)
[replaced Jim Shannon]
Democratic Unionist Strangford Mike Nesbitt UUP 11.0% 6
Ken Robinson (retiring) Ulster Unionist East Antrim Oliver McMullan Sinn Féin 8.2% 10

Member returning with a different affiliation

[edit]

David McClarty, originally elected from East Londonderry as an Ulster Unionist, although not re-nominated by the UUP in 2011, stood successfully for re-election as an independent. This reduced the UUP's strength from 2007, while keeping independent strength in the Assembly at one (as Kieran Deeny, the retiring independent member, was not succeeded in West Tyrone by another independent). McClarty decided not to re-join the UUP after his re-election.[16]

Speaker

[edit]

The presiding officer of the Northern Ireland's Assembly (like those for Scotland and Wales, but unlike those for the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland) does not remain impartial during the election period. The sitting Speaker, in this instance William Hay (DUP, Foyle), must revert to his or her party colours and campaign for a seat on its manifesto. Once re-elected as an MLA (as Hay was), he or she becomes eligible for re-election as Speaker to resume unbiased authority over the Assembly.[17] The regional media reported that Sinn Féin's Francie Molloy, an outgoing Deputy Speaker, had hoped to win election as Speaker when the 2011 Assembly first met;[18] in the event, following inter-party negotiations, Hay was re-elected and Molloy was nominated by his party for, and elected to, a newly created position of Principal Deputy Speaker with a presumed right of succession.[5]

Party leaders in the Assembly

[edit]

Electoral administration

[edit]

Eligibility and proof of identity

[edit]

European Union (EU) and Commonwealth citizens aged 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote. The deadline for voters to register to vote in 5 May elections was midnight on 14 April 2011. All voters had to present one piece of photographic identification in order to cast a vote at the polling station: accepted forms of ID were an Electoral Identity Card, a photographic Northern Ireland or Great Britain driving licence, a European Union member state passport, a Translink 60+ SmartPass, a Translink Senior SmartPass, a Translink Blind Person's SmartPass or a Translink War Disabled SmartPass.[19] Voters who didn't have an accepted type of photographic ID had until 22 April 2011 to apply for an Electoral Identity Card from the Electoral Office. A judicial review brought by candidates in the simultaneous local government elections, challenging the non-acceptance of EU national identity cards as a proof of identity, failed on 4 May 2011.[20]

Speed of counting of votes

[edit]

In the days following the 2011 Assembly election concerns were raised by politicians and others about the time it took for ballots to be verified and counted. The first result came in at 7:00 p.m. on Friday 6 May, nine hours after counting began and 21 hours after polls closed.[21] The announcement of the final results for some constituencies came two days after the polls closed. In contrast, the first result for elections held in Scotland on the same day as the Assembly election came in at 12:54 a.m., just under three hours after counting began, and the final result came in at 5:21 p.m. on the same day (Friday 6 May). In response to the criticisms about the speed of counting, Northern Ireland's Chief Electoral Officer, Graham Shields, defended the process, saying that it was "about accuracy, not about speed", adding that "This is a complicated process and people have to accept that. We will take as long as it takes to get it right."[22]

See also

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Sinn Féin's president at the time was Gerry Adams; however he already held a seat in the Republic of Ireland. McGuinness was Sinn Féin's "party leader in the North".

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: Eligible Electorate Statistics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  2. ^ "Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: Registered Voter Statistics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  3. ^ Henry McDonald (6 May 2011). "Ulster Unionists head for fourth place". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  4. ^ "Allister outraged as Speaker retakes post with help of Sinn Fein" Archived 17 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, by Noel McAdam, The Belfast Telegraph, 13 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011
  5. ^ a b "Sinn Fein's Francie Molloy likely to be Stormont Speaker in 2014" Archived 20 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, by Noel McAdam, The Belfast Telegraph, 13 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011
  6. ^ "New Executive ministers to be appointed on Monday Archived 22 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine", BBC News, 16 May 2011
  7. ^ "Stormont Assembly votes in new team of Ministers" Archived 23 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, by Dan Keenan, The Irish Times, 17 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011
  8. ^ "NI Assembly Elections 2011 - First Preference Votes Per Party". Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. 2011. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Latest 2011 Election results". UTV. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Election 2011 - Northern Ireland - Constituencies". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  11. ^ NI Assembly Election 2011 Results Archived 11 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, retrieved Monday 9 May 2011
  12. ^ Westminster General Election (NI) Thursday 6 May 2010 Archived 14 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, compiled by Martin Melaugh, CAIN Web Service. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  13. ^ Compiled by looking up each constituency at this site: "Full Northern Ireland Results" Archived 12 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 11 May 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011
  14. ^ Four weeks after the election, in which he was the Progressive Unionists' only candidate, Brian Ervine announced that he would resign as party leader. "PUP leader Brian Ervine to stand down" Archived 22 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 2 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011
  15. ^ "McClarty: withdraw Sinn Fein ‘scum’ remark or it's no deal, Tom" Archived 13 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, by Liam Clarke, The Belfast Telegraph, published and retrieved on Wednesday 11 May 2011.
  16. ^ a b "David McClarty says he will remain an independent MLA" Archived 22 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine, BBC, 11 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011
  17. ^ "Lord Alderdice calls for Stormont Speaker rules change". BBC. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  18. ^ "First day of new assembly term". BBC. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  19. ^ "Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: Electoral Identity Card" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  20. ^ "UTV news report". Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  21. ^ "NI Stormont Assembly election results: day two as it happened". BBC News. 7 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  22. ^ "Electoral chief defends staff over results delays". BBC. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
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Official sites

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News reports

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Party web sites, manifestoes and election broadcasts

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The party election broadcasts (PEBs) in this table are at the BBC News site. Almost every individual party web site below also shows a copy of or a link to at least one of the party's own election broadcasts.

Campaign or party web site Manifesto 1st broadcast 2nd broadcast 3rd broadcast
BBC News List of all election addresses in the order they were broadcast
Alliance Party Manifesto Wednesday 13 April Tuesday 26 April
British National Party Manifesto Monday 11 April
Democratic Unionist Party Manifesto Monday 4 April Tuesday 19 April Tuesday 3 May
Green Party Manifesto Wednesday 20 April
People Before Profit Alliance Tuesday 19 April
Progressive Unionist Party Manifesto
Sinn Féin Manifesto Tuesday 5 April Monday 18 April Monday 2 May
Social Dem. & Labour Party Manifesto Wednesday 6 April Friday 15 April Thursday 28 April
Socialist Party [Belfast:] E S W Monday 18 April
Traditional Unionist Voice Manifesto Wednesday 20 April
Ulster Unionist Party Manifesto Thursday 7 April Thursday 14 April Wednesday 27 April
UK Independence Party Manifesto Friday 8 April
Workers' Party Man. Summary Wednesday 20 April

Party leaders' debates

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  • Televised debate between the leaders of the Alliance, DUP, Sinn Féin, SDLP and UUP on BBC Northern Ireland for 90 minutes on Tuesday 3 May (this link includes a written synopsis)