2016_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election

2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election

2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election

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The 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016. It was the fifth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. 1,281,595 individuals were registered to vote in the election (representing an increase of 5.9% compared to the previous Assembly election).[3] Turnout in the 2016 Assembly election was 703,744 (54.9%), a decline of less than one percentage point from the previous Assembly Election in 2011, but down 15 percentage points from the first election to the Assembly held in 1998.[4]

Quick Facts All 108 seats to the Northern Ireland Assembly, Turnout ...

As in the 2007 and 2011 elections, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin won the most seats, with the DUP winning 38 and Sinn Féin winning 28 of the available 108 seats. The Ulster Unionist Party won 16 seats, the Social Democratic and Labour Party 12 and the Alliance 8, while two seats were won by the Green Party and People Before Profit. The Traditional Unionist Voice and an independent candidate each won one seat.

Change of date

Under the Northern Ireland Act 1998, elections to the Assembly were originally for a four-year term; thus there would have been an election due in May 2015, four years after the 2011 election. Following the introduction of the UK Fixed Term Parliaments Act, this date would have clashed with the 2015 UK general election.[5] The Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections were postponed for a year to 2016 to avoid this clash.[6]

In May 2013, Theresa Villiers, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced the next Assembly election would be postponed to May 2016, and would be held at fixed intervals of five years thereafter.[7] Section 7 of the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 specifies that elections will be held on the first Thursday in May on the fifth (rather than fourth, as previously) calendar year following that in which its predecessor was elected.[8]

End of dual mandate

The Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 also ends the practice of dual mandate, prohibiting someone being elected to the assembly who is also a member of the House of Commons or Dáil Éireann.[8] At the time the Act was passed, there were three such dual-members: the DUP's Sammy Wilson (MP for East Antrim and MLA for East Antrim) and Gregory Campbell (MP for East Londonderry and MLA for East Londonderry) and the SDLP's Alasdair McDonnell (MP for Belfast South and MLA for Belfast South).[9] Wilson and McDonnell resigned from the Assembly after being re-elected to the House of Commons in the 2015 election. Campbell, who was also re-elected as an MP, is retiring from the Assembly at this election.[10]

Earlier dissolution

There are several circumstances in which the Assembly could be dissolved before the date scheduled by virtue of section 31(1) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Dissolution motion

Under section 32 of the 1998 Act, the Assembly can be dissolved if a resolution to such an effect is passed by the Assembly, with support of 72 or more members.[citation needed]

Failure to elect the First or deputy First Ministers

The Act provides that if the Assembly fails to elect either the First Minister or deputy First Minister within six weeks, an election is called. Since the enactment of the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006, the First Minister has been nominated by the largest party of the largest community designation, and the deputy First Minister has been nominated by the largest party in the second largest community designation ("Nationalist", "Unionist" or "Other").[11]

New Executive Departments

It was proposed[12] that after the May 2016 Election there be a reduction in the number of ministries and departments. The amendments were:

° The Department of Education remains the same.

Candidates

Nominations opened on 30 March 2016 for the assembly election.[13] A full list of candidates is available.[14][15] The table below lists all of the nominated candidates.

  • * indicates an incumbent MLA
  • ** indicates the candidate was the incumbent MLA for a different constituency
  • Leaders of parties represented in the assembly at dissolution are shown in bold text
  • Elected candidates are marked with an (E)
More information Constituency, DUP ...

Members not seeking re-election

Alliance

DUP

NI21

SDLP

Sinn Féin

UUP

UKIP

Results

Result by constituencies

The 2016 election was held using STV and 18 multi-seat districts, each electing 6 members.

More information Party, Votes ...

Distribution of seats by constituency

Party affiliation of the six Assembly members returned by each constituency. 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 7 May 2015 (under the "first past the post" method).

(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.)

More information No., 2015 MP ...

Share of first-preference votes

Percentage of each constituency's first-preference votes. 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.]
More information No., 2015 MP ...

Incumbents defeated

Sinn Féin

Democratic Unionist Party

Ulster Unionist Party

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Independent

Opinion Polling

Graphical summary

More information Pollster, Client ...

Footnotes

  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

  1. [1]
    "Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: Turnout Statistics" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  2. [2]
    "View Registration - The Electoral Commission". Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  3. [3]
    "Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: Eligible Electorate" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  4. [4]
    "Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: Turnout Statistics" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  5. [5]
    "The new Northern Ireland Bill". AgendaNi. 2 September 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  6. [6]
    "Government welcomes elections agreement - Press releases". GOV.UK. 3 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  7. [7]
    "Northern Ireland Assembly elections put back to 2016". BBC News Online. 10 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  8. [8]
    "Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014". Legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  9. [9]
    "The new Northern Ireland Bill". AgendaNi.com. 2 September 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  10. [10]
    Gareth Gordon (3 March 2016). "Gregory Campbell to stand down as MLA ahead of double-jobbing ban". BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  11. [11]
    "Northern Ireland Act 1998". legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  12. [12]
    "Departments Bill 70/11-16" (PDF). Northern Ireland Assembly. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  13. [13]
    "Northern Ireland Assembly Election May 2016" (PDF). Electoralcommission.org.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  14. [14]
    "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland". EONI.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  15. [15]
    "Northern Ireland election 2016: Candidates". BBC News. 13 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  16. [16]
    "An Alliance For The Future?". Slugger O'Toole. 8 October 2015. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  17. [17]
    "Anna Lo to quit NI politics over disillusionment". BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  18. [18]
    "Alliance MLA Kieran McCarthy to stand down from Assembly". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  19. [19]
    "DUP man Moutray to step down from the Assembly - Belfast Newsletter". Newsletter.co.uk. 7 December 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  20. [20]
    Clarke, Liam (19 November 2015). "DUP's Peter Robinson: I'm standing down within weeks". The Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  21. [21]
    "I'm finished with politics, says Basil McCrea – bombshell announcementsounds death knell for NI21". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  22. [22]
    "SDLP's Dominic Bradley to retire as MLA next year". UTV. 19 October 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  23. [23]
    "Race for Dallat's east Derry seat". Derry Journal. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  24. [24]
    "SDLP's Alban Maginness: I will not contest assembly election in May". BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  25. [25]
    "Phil Flanagan fails Sinn Féin reselection test". The Irish News. 15 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  26. [26]
    "Speaker Mitchel McLaughlin to stand down from Assembly". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  27. [27]
    "Veteran independent councillor Alan Chambers joins UUP". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  28. [28]
    "Sam Gardiner misses out on UUP selection for Assembly election". Portadown Times. 17 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  29. [29]
    "Michael McGimpsey to stand down from Northern Ireland Assembly". BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  30. [30]
    "#EURef Leave campaigns at the UKIP Northern Ireland conference #UKIPNI15". Slugger O'Toole. 22 November 2015. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.

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