Mary Lou McDonald says Stormont vote is ‘election of generation’ as Sinn Fein on verge of historic win over DUP
SINN Fein are on the brink of a historic victory in Northern Ireland that party President Mary Lou McDonald described as “the election of a generation”.
The nationalist party are on course to become the largest party in Stormont for the first ever time as the DUP will have to make do with being the second most popular group.
Speaking in Belfast, Deputy McDonald said: “Today is a good day — it’s about change, it’s about progress and partnership.
“We want to thank everyone for voting and being part of a democratic process in what, we believe, is the election of a generation. We are here to serve everyone.”
She added: “We are here to serve, to work hard for everybody and we look forward to rolling our sleeves up, and getting stuck in, because there’s a lot of work to do.”
Sinn Fein are on the verge of becoming the first ever nationalist party to hold the most seats in the Assembly — ending the Democratic Unionist Party’s 20-year dominance.
The Alliance Party also look set to be big winners from the 2022 Election after the SDLP suffered a stark dip in support.
UPP leader James Beattie is in a dogfight to retain his seat in Upper Bann, as he fought stiff competition from Sinn Fein, the DUP and The Alliance Party.
Beattie is feeling the pressure, and said the “nonsense” and “fear” about a border poll affected the election.
He said: “The problem is when you’re in the middle of fighting an election — and there’s an awful long way to go yet — you start giving excuses for something you don’t even know if it’s going to happen.
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“But there are some things which affect us. The protocol has affected this election, whether we like it or whether we don’t like it. The nonsense about a border poll has affected this election.
“Using fear to say to people if you don’t vote for me, you’ll get them, has affected this election.”
For a century, one of the Unionist parties has held sway in the devolved government. But that streak looks set to end as the dust starts to settle on the 2022 Assembly election.
The public took to the ballot boxes on Thursday, as 239 candidates across 18 constituencies were contesting the 90 seats of Stormont.
And Sinn Fein’s deputy leader Michelle O’Neill looks set to take the top job as Stormont’s First Minister as her party tallied 29.02 per cent of the first preferences votes.
Their nearest rivals, the DUP, managed to secure 21.33 per cent of No1 votes, while their unionist counterparts, the UPP, took an 11.17 per cent share of first preferences. The SDLP managed just 9.07 per cent.
HISTORIC MOMENT
Speaking after topping the poll to take a seat in Mid Ulster, Ms O’Neill said: “I think it was because people wanted us to talk about how we would work together in partnership with others.
“That was the message that resonated on the doors and I am very grateful to every voter.”
Commenting on the prospect of a Sinn Fein First Minister in Stormont, Mary Lou said: “Sinn Fein has had an excellent election. Our vote has surged. We’ve topped the poll in a dozen or more constituencies.
“And there is yes a real chance — a likelihood even — that Michelle O’Neill will be the first nationalist republican person to lead Government here in the North.
“And remember, this place was specifically designed, engineered to have a permanent Unionist majority. That electoral majority has been gone now for a number of elections.
“And today, tomorrow, potentially, we have a historic moment of equality, a great expression of how the North has changed, how Ireland has changed. And above all else, I would say a clear expression that we are only going forward, that we are not going back — and I think Jeffrey Donaldson and the DUP need to hear that as well.”
SDLP LOSE VOTE TO SF SURGE
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the party has to “regroup and reorganise” following a disappointing performance.
They saw a significant dip in support as they lost out to Sinn Fein and the The Alliance Party.
Mr Eastwood admitted “a lot” of his party’s voters defected to Sinn Fein in the battle to get a nationalist First Minister.
The Foyle MP said: “The pull of the flag and the pull of the First Minister issue just was too strong for people and we have to think about that. But we’ll dust ourselves off and we’ll come back again.
“We’ve been counted out before and we’ve always come back, so we just have to regroup and reorganise and get stuck in to try and continue to represent people because that’s what we’re about.”
He continued: “It was very clear in the dying days of this campaign that the focus had shifted within nationalism to the First Minister issue. People just didn’t like being told by Jeffrey Donaldson that a nationalist couldn’t be First Minister, and they acted accordingly.
“And it’s absolutely clear to us that many nationalists shifted from us to Sinn Fein. It’s an understandable gut reaction, we get it, and we’re in tight fights because of it.”
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said he was “delighted” after he was elected in Lagan Valley, adding: “One of the key messages for me is that unionism simply can’t afford the divisions that exist.”
The Alliance Party tallied 13.53 per cent of first preference votes and also had the first person elected.
Kellie Armstrong said she was “absolutely delighted” after she topped the poll in the Strangford constituency on the first count, with 7,015 first preferences votes, just over the quota of 6,811.
She said: “I’ve held back using the word ‘surge’ until now, but I think I’m feeling it now. I’m absolutely delighted to top the poll.”
Party leader Naomi Long topped the East Belfast poll to be re-elected on the first count.
She said the DUP needs to “stop creating instability and start doing government” and accept the will of the people.
GET GOVERNMENT FORMED
She said it “means if you stand for election and you come second, you take up the post that’s available”.
She added: “If they are unwilling to do it, then I think it’s time for the rest of us to change how we actually go about forming government, so that those who want to walk away can walk away, and those of us who actually want to do the hard work can get on with it.”
It remains unclear whether unionist parties will agree to nominate a Deputy First Minister should Sinn Fein win — putting the future of power-sharing into doubt.
However, senior Orangeman Mervyn Gibson says unionist parties are not focused on stopping Sinn Fein from taking the first minister’s role — saying the issue was always with the protocol.
The Orange Order’s grand secretary said: “It has always been about the protocol. Certainly, I would prefer that a nationalist wouldn’t be the first minister. What has driven me in this election is the protocol.
STORMONTHS TO FORM EXECUTIVE
A NEW Executive might not form for months, the Foreign Affairs Minister has warned.
Simon Coveney said he expected it to be “difficult” to agree on a power-sharing plan as Sinn Fein looks to take over from the DUP as the top party.
He added: “We have seen for a number of years now, a lot of polarisation on certain issues within Northern Ireland politics.
“Of course we have the added complication now of a potential change in the pecking order, in terms of the possibility of the nationalist party having the highest percentage of the vote and highest number of seats.”
DUP MP Sammy Wilson has said his party couldn’t return to Stormont “if the poison” of the Northern Ireland Protocol still remains in place.
But the Taoiseach today sought to reassure unionists over their concerns about resolving issues around the Brexit law.
Micheal Martin said the EU had already shown good faith in coming forward with changes to how the Protocol operates and was prepared to discuss that even further.
He added: “The EU and the UK have the opportunity now in the aftermath of this election to knuckle down and get an agreement in terms of the operation of the protocol.
“With good political will, this issue can be resolved.”
“Those tactics don’t work with people anymore. If there is a first minister from Sinn Fein, it is because unionists didn’t come out and vote. There’s been apathy on the ground, apathy in our communities.”
Sinn Fein’s director of elections John Finucane said that there was no reason why the Assembly “can’t get back to work straight away”.
He continued: “Stormont is sitting with over £330m in its coffers, and I don’t think there is any excuse whatsoever about why we cannot go back in and unlock that money.
"People need to see the people that they voted for getting to work, working with other parties, dealing with the issues. That is what we set out very clearly to the electorate.”
Commenting on the swing in support for Sinn Fein, Finucane added: “We said going into this campaign, there is no vote that belongs to any party.
“This was an election which was fought in the middle of a cost-of-living and a health crisis.
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“We heard that a lot before the election, and we are going to be hearing that a lot after the election. Those issues aren’t going away. People need to see an executive.”
The overall turnout for the election was 63.6 per cent, slightly lower than the 64.8 per cent who voted in 2017.
