At the 2003 election the DUP became the largest party. As it opposed the Belfast Agreement, there was no prospect of the assembly voting for the First and deputy First Ministers. Therefore, the British Government did not restore power to the Assembly and the elected members never met. Instead there commenced a protracted series of negotiations. During these negotiations a legally separate assembly, known as The Assembly consisting of the members elected in 2003 was formed in May 2006[1] to enable the parties to negotiate and to prepare for government.
Eventually, in October 2006, the governments and the parties, including the DUP, made the St Andrews Agreement and a new transitional assembly came into effect on 24 November 2006.[2] The British government agreed to fresh elections and the transitional assembly was dissolved on 30 January 2007, after which campaigning began.[3]
The process
The election was conducted using the single transferable vote applied to six-seat constituencies, each of which corresponds to a UK parliamentary seat. The First Minister and Deputy First Minister were chosen by the largest parties from the two different political designations. Parties who won seats were then allocated places on the executive committee in proportion to their seats in the Assembly using the D'Hondt method.
Among the other parties that stood, the Conservatives nominated nine and there were six candidates for the Workers' Party. Also there were four candidates for Make Politicians History and two for the Socialist Party. Six Republican Sinn Féin-aligned candidates also stood. As the party had chosen not to register as a political party with the electoral commission, the party name did not appear alongside its candidates on ballot papers.[4]
One of the key issues in the election was which two political parties would gain the largest number of Assembly seats. The St Andrews Agreement stated that the First Minister will be chosen from the largest party of the largest political designation and the Deputy First Minister from the largest party from the second largest political designation;[5] however, the actual legislation states that the largest party shall make the nomination regardless of designation.[6]
Results
Result by constituencies
(in order of first preference vote)
The DUP remained the largest party in the Assembly, making significant gains from the UUP.
Sinn Féin made gains from the SDLP and was the largest party among the Nationalists.
The only other Assembly Party to make gains was the liberal Alliance Party (winning seven seats, a gain of one), while the Progressive Unionist Party and independent health campaigner Dr Kieran Deeny retained their single seats, and were joined by the Green Party, which won its first Assembly seat, and increased its first preference votes fourfold from 2003.
The UK Unionist Party lost its representation in the Assembly. They had contested 12 seats, with Robert McCartney standing in six of them.[7]
Overall, Unionist parties were collectively down 4 seats, Nationalist parties were collectively up 2 seats, and others were up 2 seats.
The election was notable as it saw the first Chinese-born person to be elected to a parliamentary institution in Europe: Anna Lo of the Alliance Party.[8][9]
Parties who won seats are allocated places on the Executive Committee using the D'Hondt method and under the St Andrews agreement the largest party gets the right to nominate the first minister and the largest party perceived to be from "the other side" nominates the deputy first minister. Despite the name these offices are in fact of equal right. Note that they are both ministers in the same department (Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister). Using this system, the executive appointed in 2007 was as follows:
There are two junior ministers in OFMDFM who are, at present, Jeffery Donaldson (DUP) and Gerry Kelly (SF). In April 2010, the Department of Justice was formed, being led by David Ford from the Alliance Party. This is the Alliance Party's first ministerial role.
Opinion polls
An opinion poll by Ipsos MORI, published in The Belfast Telegraph on 1 March 2007, reported the voting intentions of those who intended to vote and had decided which party to vote for:[12]
^Northern Ireland Assembly Information Office. . Niassembly.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
^Northern Ireland Assembly Information Office (14 March 2007). . Niassembly.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
^"Date set for NI Assembly election". BBC News. 16 November 2006. from the original on 18 November 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^"Poll candidate line-up revealed". BBC News. 14 February 2007. from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007.: Paragraph 9 Practical changes to the operation of the institutions
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2007. 16C(C) (page 11) ".. nominating officer of the largest political party"
^"Many seats raise many eyebrows". BBC News. 14 February 2007. from the original on 24 February 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^Sharrock, David (10 March 2007). "Blair urges Paisley and Sinn Féin now take your places in history". The Times. London. from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^McDonald, Henry (11 February 2007). "Chinese candidate defies racist abuse". The Guardian. London. from the original on 3 April 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^ ab"DUP and Sinn Féin in joint letter". BBC News Online. BBC. 1 April 2007. from the original on 7 April 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
^ abcd"Sinn Féin reveals ministerial jobs". BBC News Online. BBC. 4 April 2007. from the original on 5 May 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
^ McAdam, Noel (1 March 2007). . Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
^"Gay row 'difficult' for Alliance". BBC News. 10 December 2005. from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^"Endgame for Close after 33 years". BBC News. 14 November 2006. from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^"IOL | SF MLA Dougan to step down". Breakingnews.iol.ie. 21 June 2010. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
^. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
^. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
^. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
^uuptoday.org » Nesbitt to stand down from Elected Politics 8 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
^Sinn Féin: Sinn Féin MLA to concentrate on role as local Councillor 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
^"Candidates hand in election forms". BBC News. 13 February 2007. from the original on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^"Welcome to the website of David Trimble MLA". Davidtrimble.org. from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
^BreakingNews.ie: Archives :2006-12-31 5 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^"MLA blasted by candidate over 'integrity'". Belfast Today. Retrieved 21 January 2011.[permanent dead link]
^McDonald, Henry (21 January 2007). "DUP rebels move to stop Agreement". The Guardian. London. from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^"Dropped MLA wants policing debate". BBC News. 19 December 2006. from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^"Sinn Féin drops second politician". BBC News. 20 December 2006. from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^"PUP's Ervine has died in hospital". BBC News. 8 January 2007. from the original on 10 January 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^"Death of Sinn Féin assembly man". BBC News. 25 September 2006. from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
External links
BBC Guide to the elections
Electoral Commission guide to election
Manifestos
The Alternative - An Agenda for a United Community, Alliance
Getting it Right, Democratic Unionist Party
For All Our Futures, Green Party Northern Ireland
New Politics for a New Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Conservatives
A New Dawn, Progressive Unionist Party
Smash Stormont Republican Sinn Féin
Delivering for Ireland's Future, Sinn Féin
Let's Deliver Real Progress, Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Only Alternative, Socialist Environmental Alliance
For All of Us, Ulster Unionist Party
Assembly Manifesto 2007, Workers' Party
May 03, 2023
2007, northern, ireland, assembly, election, this, article, about, assembly, election, northern, ireland, general, election, republic, ireland, 2007, irish, general, election, held, wednesday, march, 2007, third, election, take, place, since, devolved, assembl. This article is about the assembly election in Northern Ireland For the general election in the Republic of Ireland see 2007 Irish general election The 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday 7 March 2007 It was the third election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998 The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties the Democratic Unionist Party DUP and Sinn Fein along with the Alliance Party increase their support with falls in support for the Ulster Unionist Party UUP and the Social Democratic and Labour Party SDLP 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election 2003 7 March 2007 2011 outgoing membersMLAs elected All 108 seats to the Northern Ireland AssemblyTurnout62 3 0 7 First party Second party Third party Leader Ian Paisley Gerry Adams Reg EmpeyParty DUP Sinn Fein Ulster UnionistLeader since 30 September 1971 13 November 1983 24 June 2005Leader s seat North Antrim Belfast West Belfast EastLast election 30 seats 27 8 24 seats 23 5 27 seats 22 7 Seats won 36 28 18Seat change 6 4 9Popular vote 207 721 180 573 103 145Percentage 30 1 26 2 14 9 Swing 4 4 2 7 7 8 Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party GreenLeader Mark Durkan David Ford John BarryParty SDLP Alliance Green NI Leader since 10 November 2001 6 October 2001 January 2003Leader s seat Foyle South Antrim NoneLast election 18 seats 16 7 6 seats 3 7 0 seat 0 4 Seats won 16 7 1Seat change 2 1 1Popular vote 105 164 36 139 11 985Percentage 15 2 5 2 1 7 Swing 1 8 1 5 1 3 Seventh party PUPLeader Dawn PurvisParty PUPLeader since 2007Leader s seat Belfast EastLast election 1 seat 1 2 Seats won 1Seat changePopular vote 3 822Percentage 0 6 Swing 0 6 Seats won by each party and combined first preference vote share of the largest party Break down of each party and sectarian camp s seats in constituenciesElection results Voters elect 6 assembly members from the 18 constituencies First Minister before electionSuspended First Minister after election Ian PaisleyDUPThe 2007 election was held using STV and 18 multi seat districts each electing 6 members Contents 1 Background 2 The process 3 The campaign 4 Results 5 Executive Committee seats 6 Opinion polls 7 MLAs who lost their seats at the election 8 MLAs who stood down at the election 9 MLAs deselected by their party 10 MLAs deceased since 2003 election 11 See also 12 References 13 External links 13 1 ManifestosBackground EditAt the 2003 election the DUP became the largest party As it opposed the Belfast Agreement there was no prospect of the assembly voting for the First and deputy First Ministers Therefore the British Government did not restore power to the Assembly and the elected members never met Instead there commenced a protracted series of negotiations During these negotiations a legally separate assembly known as The Assembly consisting of the members elected in 2003 was formed in May 2006 1 to enable the parties to negotiate and to prepare for government Eventually in October 2006 the governments and the parties including the DUP made the St Andrews Agreement and a new transitional assembly came into effect on 24 November 2006 2 The British government agreed to fresh elections and the transitional assembly was dissolved on 30 January 2007 after which campaigning began 3 The process EditThe election was conducted using the single transferable vote applied to six seat constituencies each of which corresponds to a UK parliamentary seat The First Minister and Deputy First Minister were chosen by the largest parties from the two different political designations Parties who won seats were then allocated places on the executive committee in proportion to their seats in the Assembly using the D Hondt method The campaign EditThe major parties standing were the Democratic Unionist Party DUP and the Ulster Unionist Party UUP on the Unionist side and Sinn Fein and the Social Democratic and Labour Party SDLP on the Nationalist side The largest cross community party the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland contested the election in 17 of 18 constituencies Smaller parties also included the Progressive Unionist Party the Green Party and the UK Unionist Party Some independent Unionists also stood Among the other parties that stood the Conservatives nominated nine and there were six candidates for the Workers Party Also there were four candidates for Make Politicians History and two for the Socialist Party Six Republican Sinn Fein aligned candidates also stood As the party had chosen not to register as a political party with the electoral commission the party name did not appear alongside its candidates on ballot papers 4 One of the key issues in the election was which two political parties would gain the largest number of Assembly seats The St Andrews Agreement stated that the First Minister will be chosen from the largest party of the largest political designation and the Deputy First Minister from the largest party from the second largest political designation 5 however the actual legislation states that the largest party shall make the nomination regardless of designation 6 Results Edit Result by constituencies in order of first preference vote The DUP remained the largest party in the Assembly making significant gains from the UUP Sinn Fein made gains from the SDLP and was the largest party among the Nationalists The only other Assembly Party to make gains was the liberal Alliance Party winning seven seats a gain of one while the Progressive Unionist Party and independent health campaigner Dr Kieran Deeny retained their single seats and were joined by the Green Party which won its first Assembly seat and increased its first preference votes fourfold from 2003 The UK Unionist Party lost its representation in the Assembly They had contested 12 seats with Robert McCartney standing in six of them 7 Overall Unionist parties were collectively down 4 seats Nationalist parties were collectively up 2 seats and others were up 2 seats The election was notable as it saw the first Chinese born person to be elected to a parliamentary institution in Europe Anna Lo of the Alliance Party 8 9 PartyVotes SeatsAssembly ExecutiveDemocratic Unionist Party207 72130 09 4 436 65Sinn Fein180 57326 16 2 628 44Social Democratic and Labour Party105 16415 23 1 816 21Ulster Unionist Party103 14514 94 7 718 92Alliance Party of Northern Ireland36 1395 24 1 57 1 Green Party in Northern Ireland11 9851 74 1 31 1 UK Unionist Party10 4521 51 0 7 1 Progressive Unionist Party3 8220 55 0 61 Northern Ireland Conservatives3 4570 50 0 3 Republican Sinn Fein2 5220 37 Socialist Environmental Alliance2 0450 30 0 1 UK Independence Party1 2290 18 Workers Party9750 14 0 1 People Before Profit Alliance7740 11 Socialist Party4730 07 0 1 Make Politicians History2210 03 Labour Party of Northern Ireland1230 02 Pro Capitalism220 00 Independent19 4712 82 1 91 Total690 313100 00 108012Registered voters turnout1 107 90462 31Executive Committee seats EditParties who won seats are allocated places on the Executive Committee using the D Hondt method and under the St Andrews agreement the largest party gets the right to nominate the first minister and the largest party perceived to be from the other side nominates the deputy first minister Despite the name these offices are in fact of equal right Note that they are both ministers in the same department Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister Using this system the executive appointed in 2007 was as follows Department Minister PartyFirst Minister Ian Paisley 10 DUPDeputy First Minister Martin McGuinness 10 Sinn FeinEnterprise Trade and Investment Nigel Dodds DUPFinance amp Personnel Peter Robinson DUPRegional Development Conor Murphy 11 Sinn FeinEducation Caitriona Ruane 11 Sinn FeinEmployment and Learning Sir Reg Empey Ulster UnionistEnvironment Arlene Foster DUPCulture Arts amp Leisure Edwin Poots DUPHealth Social Services amp Public Safety Michael McGimpsey Ulster UnionistAgriculture Michelle Gildernew 11 Sinn FeinSocial Development Margaret Ritchie 11 SDLPThere are two junior ministers in OFMDFM who are at present Jeffery Donaldson DUP and Gerry Kelly SF In April 2010 the Department of Justice was formed being led by David Ford from the Alliance Party This is the Alliance Party s first ministerial role Opinion polls EditAn opinion poll by Ipsos MORI published in The Belfast Telegraph on 1 March 2007 reported the voting intentions of those who intended to vote and had decided which party to vote for 12 Party Percentage Actual VoteDUP 25 30Sinn Fein 22 26SDLP 20 15Ulster Unionist 16 15Alliance 9 5Green NI 3 2Conservative 1 0 5UK Unionist 1 1 5PUP 1 0 6Independent 1 3MLAs who lost their seats at the election EditMichael Copeland UUP Belfast East Esmond Birnie UUP Belfast South Diane Dodds DUP Belfast West Norman Hillis UUP East Londonderry Marietta Farrell SDLP Lagan Valley Billy Bell UUP Lagan Valley Paul Berry Ind Newry and Armagh Davy Hyland Ind Newry and Armagh Robert McCartney UKUP North Down George Ennis UKUP Strangford Eugene McMenamin SDLP West Tyrone Derek Hussey UUP West Tyrone Notes Berry and Ennis were originally elected as DUP candidates Hyland was originally elected as a Sinn Fein candidate MLAs who stood down at the election EditEileen Bell Alliance Speaker North Down 13 Seamus Close Alliance Lagan Valley 14 Geraldine Dougan Sinn Fein Mid Ulster 15 Sean Farren SDLP North Antrim 16 Patricia Lewsley SDLP Lagan Valley 17 Philip McGuigan Sinn Fein North Antrim 18 Dermot Nesbitt UUP South Down 19 Tom O Reilly Sinn Fein Fermanagh and South Tyrone 20 Kathy Stanton Sinn Fein North Belfast Lord Kilclooney UUP Strangford 21 Lord Trimble UUP Upper Bann 22 Jim Wilson UUP South Antrim 23 Patricia Lewsley stood down prior to the dissolution of the assembly This list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items August 2008 MLAs deselected by their party EditWilson Clyde DUP South Antrim George Ennis DUP Strangford 24 Paul Girvan DUP South Antrim 25 Davy Hyland Sinn Fein Newry and Armagh 26 Patricia O Rawe Sinn Fein Newry and Armagh 27 Norah Beare DUP Lagan Valley Mark Robinson DUP Belfast South As a sitting MLA Norah Beare defected from the UUP to the DUP and is therefore unselected rather than deselected clarification needed Following their de selection both Ennis and Hyland unsuccessfully sought election under the UKUP and independent labels respectively This list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items August 2008 MLAs deceased since 2003 election EditDavid Ervine PUP Belfast East 28 Michael Ferguson Sinn Fein Belfast West 29 See also Edit Wikinews has related news DUP and Sinn Fein make gains in Northern Ireland Assembly election Concerned Republicans 3rd Northern Ireland Assembly 2007 Irish general election 2007 Scottish Parliament election 2007 National Assembly for Wales electionReferences Edit Northern Ireland Assembly Information Office The Assembly Main Page Niassembly gov uk Archived from the original on 29 December 2008 Retrieved 21 January 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly Information Office 14 March 2007 Transitional Assembly Main Page Niassembly gov uk Archived from the original on 17 January 2011 Retrieved 21 January 2011 Date set for NI Assembly election BBC News 16 November 2006 Archived from the original on 18 November 2006 Retrieved 20 May 2010 Poll candidate line up revealed BBC News 14 February 2007 Archived from the original on 3 March 2007 Retrieved 20 May 2010 St Andrews Agreement 2006 Annex A Archived from the original on 18 December 2007 Paragraph 9 Practical changes to the operation of the institutions Northern Ireland St Andrews Agreement Act 2006 PDF Archived from the original PDF on 6 February 2007 16C C page 11 nominating officer of the largest political party Many seats raise many eyebrows BBC News 14 February 2007 Archived from the original on 24 February 2007 Retrieved 20 May 2010 Sharrock David 10 March 2007 Blair urges Paisley and Sinn Fein now take your places in history The Times London Archived from the original on 23 May 2011 Retrieved 20 May 2010 McDonald Henry 11 February 2007 Chinese candidate defies racist abuse The Guardian London Archived from the original on 3 April 2007 Retrieved 20 May 2010 a b DUP and Sinn Fein in joint letter BBC News Online BBC 1 April 2007 Archived from the original on 7 April 2007 Retrieved 3 April 2007 a b c d Sinn Fein reveals ministerial jobs BBC News Online BBC 4 April 2007 Archived from the original on 5 May 2007 Retrieved 4 April 2007 McAdam Noel 1 March 2007 Snapshot reveals the voters mood Belfast Telegraph Archived from the original on 30 September 2007 Retrieved 3 March 2007 Gay row difficult for Alliance BBC News 10 December 2005 Archived from the original on 25 October 2012 Retrieved 20 May 2010 Endgame for Close after 33 years BBC News 14 November 2006 Archived from the original on 26 September 2021 Retrieved 20 May 2010 IOL SF MLA Dougan to step down Breakingnews iol ie 21 June 2010 Archived from the original on 7 July 2012 Retrieved 21 January 2011 O Loan to contest Assembly seat Archived from the original on 30 September 2007 Retrieved 2 January 2007 Lewsley to take up children s post Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 Retrieved 2 January 2007 Sinn Fein Philip McGuigan appointed to new role within Sinn Fein Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 uuptoday org Nesbitt to stand down from Elected Politics Archived 8 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Sinn Fein Sinn Fein MLA to concentrate on role as local Councillor Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine Candidates hand in election forms BBC News 13 February 2007 Archived from the original on 16 February 2007 Retrieved 20 May 2010 Welcome to the website of David Trimble MLA Davidtrimble org Archived from the original on 23 July 2011 Retrieved 21 January 2011 BreakingNews ie Archives 2006 12 31 Archived 5 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine MLA blasted by candidate over integrity Belfast Today Retrieved 21 January 2011 permanent dead link McDonald Henry 21 January 2007 DUP rebels move to stop Agreement The Guardian London Archived from the original on 26 September 2021 Retrieved 20 May 2010 Dropped MLA wants policing debate BBC News 19 December 2006 Archived from the original on 9 November 2012 Retrieved 20 May 2010 Sinn Fein drops second politician BBC News 20 December 2006 Archived from the original on 9 November 2012 Retrieved 20 May 2010 PUP s Ervine has died in hospital BBC News 8 January 2007 Archived from the original on 10 January 2007 Retrieved 20 May 2010 Death of Sinn Fein assembly man BBC News 25 September 2006 Archived from the original on 26 September 2021 Retrieved 20 May 2010 External links EditRTE News Northern Ireland 2007 elections BBC Guide to the elections Electoral Commission guide to election Candidates Statements nominators addresses etc Manifestos Edit The Alternative An Agenda for a United Community Alliance Getting it Right Democratic Unionist Party For All Our Futures Green Party Northern Ireland New Politics for a New Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Conservatives A New Dawn Progressive Unionist Party Smash Stormont Republican Sinn Fein Delivering for Ireland s Future Sinn Fein Let s Deliver Real Progress Social Democratic and Labour Party The Only Alternative Socialist Environmental Alliance For All of Us Ulster Unionist Party Assembly Manifesto 2007 Workers Party Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election amp oldid 1151774313, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
