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Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the IRA, hailed the first election victory in Northern Ireland as a “defining moment” for the region that is part of Britain and called for a debate on the creation of a United Ireland.
According to official results, Sinn Fein secured 29% of the vote for the regional parliament, while the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party received 21.3% of the vote. Although the full vote count has not yet been completed, analysts say no party has a chance of approaching the outcome of the Sinn Fein movement.
“Stoma Day represents a moment in support of great change. “It’s a defining moment in our politics and for our people.” said Sinn Fein’s leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill.
She said there should now be a “sincere debate” about the party’s intention to unite the territory with the Republic of Ireland.
Sinn Fein’s victory does not change the status of the region because organizing a referendum on joining the Republic of Ireland depends on the UK and it would take many years to organize.
But this has great symbolic significance, ending the century-old domination of pro-British parties, backed by the region’s Protestant population.
Asked by a reporter if she expected to become the region’s first Irish nationalist minister, a post similar to that of the prime minister, O’Neill said: “People have talked about it.”
Although the party with the highest number of votes has the right to nominate a candidate for Prime Minister of the region, it is obliged to share power and disagreements with the Democratic Unionist Party mean that finding a candidate who would receive the support of both parties can take several months.
Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson said he would not enter government unless the protocol governing Northern Ireland’s trade with the UK is reviewed following its exit from the EU.
The Democratic Unionist Party was sharply criticized during the campaign to address the Brexit issue. The removal of the trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK was one of its key campaign promises.
The region’s aspirations for union with the Republic of Ireland
The Sinn Fein movement has been criticized on both sides of the Irish border for its links to paramilitary violence during the three-decade war for Northern Ireland’s status within the UK that ended with the signing of a 1998 peace agreement.
Since then, it has transformed, becoming the largest party in the Republic of Ireland, where it has established a successful voter base through campaigns on day-to-day issues such as the cost of living and health care.
She followed a similar path in the election in Northern Ireland, where she focused more on the country’s economic affairs than on the need to unite with the Republic of Ireland, in an attempt to attract moderate voters.
The election follows demographic trends that have long suggested that pro-British Protestant parties would eventually be eclipsed by predominantly Catholic Irish national parties favoring the union of the north with the Republic of Ireland.
All the candidates of the Democratic Unionist Party together secured a little more votes than all the nationalists in tomorrow’s elections./VOA
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