Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2011

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2011
2007 ←
members		 5 May 2011
members elected in 2011		 → 2015
All 108 seats to the Northern Ireland Assembly
55 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Peter Robinson Gerry Adams Tom Elliott
Party Democratic Unionist Sinn Féin Ulster Unionist
Leader since 31 May 2008 13 November 1983 22 September 2010
Leader's seat Belfast East N/A Fermanagh & South Tyrone
Last election 36 seats, 30.1% 28 seats, 26.2% 18 seats, 14.9%
Seats won 38 29 16
Seat change 2 1 2
Popular vote 198,436 178,224 87,531
Percentage 30% 26.9% 13.2%
Swing 0.1% 0.7% 1.7%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Margaret Ritchie David Ford Jim Allister
Party SDLP Alliance Traditional Unionist Voice
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% New party
Seats won 14 8 1
Seat change 2 1 1
Popular vote 94,286 50,875 16,480
Percentage 14.2% 7.7% 2.5%
Swing 1.0% 2.5% 2.5%
  Seventh party
 
Leader Steven Agnew
Party Green Party
Leader since 10 January 2011
Leader's seat North Down
Last election 1 seats, 1.7%
Seats won 1
Seat change 0
Popular vote 6,031
Percentage 0.9%
Swing 0.8%
Number of seats gained by each of the parties.
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 election to the Northern Ireland Assembly 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 54.5%, a decline of almost eight percentage points from the previous Assembly election and down over 15 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.

Contents

Overview

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, who 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. 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.

Contesting parties

As in the previous Assembly, the Democratic Unionist Party'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. If a current agreement between the parties holds, then his Principal Deputy Speaker, Francie Molloy (SF, Mid-Ulster), or else another Sinn Féin member, would assume the Speakership in 2014, thereby returning the DUP caucus to its full strength while reducing Sinn Féin's by one.[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 additional, 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, First Minister and deputy First Minister. Thus the Executive's total membership, as in the past, is 13. [6][7]

Party Leader Candi-
dates		 Seats
won		 Change
from
2007		 First
Preference
votes[8][9]		 First
Pref. %		 Change
from
2007
 Council
1st pref.
% [10]		 Seats on
NI Execu-
tive		 Change
from
2010
Democratic Unionist Peter Robinson 44 38 (37) +2 198,436 29.3% –0.1% 27.2% 4 (5) —
Sinn Féin Gerry Adams 40 29 +1 178,224 26.3% +0.7% 24.8% 3 (4) —
SDLP Margaret Ritchie 28 14 –2 94,286 13.9% –1.0% 15.0% 1 (1) —
Ulster Unionist Tom Elliott 29 16 –2 87,531 12.9% –1.7% 15.2% 1 (1) –1
Alliance David Ford 22 8 +1 50,875 7.5% +2.5% 7.4% 1 (2) +1
Traditional Unionist Voice Jim Allister 12 1 +1 16,480 2.4% N/A 2.0% - —
Green (NI) Steven Agnew 6 1 — 6,031 0.9% –0.8% 1.0% - —
People Before Profit N/A 4 - 5,438 0.8% +0.7% 0.3%
UKIP Nigel Farage 6 - 4,152 0.6% +0.4% 0.4%
Progressive Unionist Brian Ervine 1 0 –1 1,493 0.2% –0.4% 0.6% - —
BNP Nick Griffin 3 - 1,252 0.2% N/A 0.1%
Workers' Party Mick Finnegan 4 - 1,155 0.2% +0.1% 0.1%
Socialist Party N/A 3 - 819 0.1% +0.1% 0.1%
Procapitalism Charles Smyth 1 - 29 0.0% +0.0% 0.0%
Independents N/A 15 1 — 15,535 2.3% –0.5% 5.1% - —
TOTAL 218 108   661,736 10 (13) —

Constituency results

Distribution of seats by constituency

Party affiliation of the six Assembly members returned by each constituency.[9][8][11] The first column indicates the party of the Member of the United Kingdom 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, refresh or reload the page.]

2010 MP Constituency Candi-
dates
 Total
seats
 Green
 Sinn
Féin
 SDLP
 Alli-
ance
 UUP
 DUP
 TUV
 Ind.
 Seat
gained
by		 Seat
formerly
held by
DUP North Antrim 11 6 - 1 - - 1 3 1 - TUV SDLP
DUP East Antrim 13 6 - 1 - 1 1 3 - - SF UUP
DUP South Antrim 10 6 - 1 - 1 1 3 - - DUP SDLP
DUP Belfast North 11 6 - 2 1 - - 3 - - DUP UUP
SF Belfast West 14 6 - 5 1 - - - - - - -
SDLP Belfast South 14 6 - 1 2 1 1 1 - - - -
All. Belfast East 17 6 - - - 2 1 3 - - Alliance Prog U (later Ind)
Ind. North Down 13 6 1 - - 1 1 3 - - DUP UUP (later Ind)
DUP Strangford 11 6 - - - 1 2 3 - - UUP DUP
DUP Lagan Valley 11 6 - - - 1 1 4 - - DUP SF
DUP Upper Bann 12 6 - 1 1 - 2 2 - - - -
SDLP South Down 11 6 - 2 2 - 1 1 - - - -
SF Newry and Armagh 11 6 - 3 1 - 1 1 - - - -
SF Fermanagh & South Tyrone 11 6 - 3 - - 1 2 - - SF (2) SF (later Ind) & SDLP
SF West Tyrone 11 6 - 3 1 - 1 1 - - SDLP & UUP Ind & DUP
SF Mid Ulster 13 6 - 3 1 - 1 1 - - - -
DUP East Londonderry 12 6 - 1 1 - - 3 - 1 Ind (ex-UUP) UUP (later Ind)
SDLP Foyle 12 6 - 2 3 - - 1 - - - -
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 Nov. 2003 108 - 24 18 6 27 30 - 1 1 Prog. U. 1 UK Unionist (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

Percentage of each constituency's first-preference votes.[13] Highest percentage 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.

2010
MP
 MP's %
of 2010
vote		 Constituency Green
 Sinn
Féin
 SDLP
 Alli-
ance
 UUP DUP TUV Oth-
ers
 Ind.
 Total
votes
 Eligible
elector-
ate		 Turn-
out
 %
DUP 46.4% North Antrim 15.3 9.1 4.6 11.7 47.6 11.7 40,313 74,760 54.8%
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%
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%
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%
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%
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%
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%
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%
DUP 45.9% Strangford 3.0 8.5 14.4 20.4 48.8 2.8 2.0 29,668 62,178 48.5%
DUP 49.8% Lagan Velley 1.7 3.4 6.1 12.4 20.4 53.1 2.9 35,487 67,532 53.1%
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%
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%
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%
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%
SF 48.4% West Tyrone 50.2 8.6 2.2 10.3 23.1 5.7 39,303 62,970 64.0%
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%
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%
SDLP 44.7% Foyle 34.0 35.3 0.9 18.4 8.0 3.4 38,847 68,663 56.6%
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

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

Turnover in members since 2007

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

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?
Dawson, GeorgeGeorge Dawson [deceased] DUP East Antrim 7 May 2007 Ross, Alastair IanAlastair Ian Ross yes
Burnside, DavidDavid Burnside UUP South Antrim 1 June 2009 Kinahan, DannyDanny Kinahan yes
Brolly, FrancieFrancie Brolly Sinn Féin East Londonderry 11 December 2009 Leonard, BillyBilly Leonard did not run (SF hold)
Robinson, IrisIris Robinson DUP Strangford 12 January 2010 Bell , JonathanJonathan Bell yes
Hanna, CarmelCarmel Hanna SDLP Belfast South 15 January 2010 Conall McDevitt yes
Donaldson, JeffreyJeffrey Donaldson MP, PC DUP Lagan Valley 10 June 2010 Givan, PaulPaul Givan yes
Paisley (junior), IanIan Paisley (junior) MP DUP North Antrim 21 June 2010 Frew, PaulPaul Frew yes
Simpson, DavidDavid Simpson MP DUP Upper Bann 1 July 2010 Anderson, SidneySidney Anderson yes
McCrea, WilliamWilliam McCrea MP DUP South Antrim 1 July 2010 Girvan, PaulPaul Girvan yes
Long, NaomiNaomi Long MP Alliance Belfast East 5 July 2010 Lyttle, ChrisChris Lyttle yes
Shannon, JimJim Shannon MP DUP Strangford 1 August 2010 Gibson, SimpsonSimpson Gibson did not run (UUP gain)
Dodds, NigelNigel Dodds MP, PC DUP Belfast North 10 September 2010 Humphrey, WilliamWilliam Humphrey yes
Durkan, MarkMark Durkan MP SDLP Foyle 9 November 2010 Callaghan, PólPól Callaghan not elected (SDLP hold)
Adams, GerryGerry Adams TD Sinn Féin Belfast West 7 December 2010 Sheehan, PatPat Sheehan yes

Changes in membership at the election

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

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
Armstrong, BillyBilly Armstrong (retiring) Ulster Unionist — — Mid Ulster Overend, SandraSandra Overend UUP 10.3% 6
Bradley, P. J.P. J. Bradley (retiring) SDLP — — South Down McKevitt, KarenKaren McKevitt SDLP 9.0% 9
Callaghan, PólPól Callaghan
[replaced Mark Durkan, MP]
Mary Bradley (retiring)		 SDLP 6.8%
 
—		 4
 
—		 Foyle Durkan, Mark H.Mark H. Durkan
Colum Eastwood		 SDLP 12.8%
7.6%		 4
7
Browne, WallaceWallace Browne (retiring)
Baron Browne of Belmont		 Democratic Unionist — — Belfast East Douglas, SammySammy Douglas DUP 8.3% 11
Coulter, RobertRobert Coulter (retiring) Ulster Unionist — — North Antrim Swann, RobinRobin Swann UUP 6.2% 9
Empey, RegReg Empey (retiring)
Lord Empey		 Ulster Unionist — — Belfast East Copeland, MichaelMichael Copeland UUP 6.8% 11
Leonard, BillyBilly Leonard (retiring)
[replaced Francie Brolly]		 Sinn Féin (suspended) — — East Londonderry O'Hoison CathalCathal Ó hOisín Sinn Féin 13.5% 6
McGill, ClaireClaire McGill (retiring) Sinn Féin — — West Tyrone Boyle, MichaelaMichaela Boyle Sinn Féin 12.9% 4
Neeson, SeánSeán Neeson (retiring) Alliance — — East Antrim Dickson, StewartStewart Dickson Alliance 10.0% 9
Paisley, IanIan Paisley, PC (retiring)
Lord Bannside
 Democratic Unionist — — North Antrim McIlveen, DavidDavid McIlveen DUP 8.1% 8
Savage, GeorgeGeorge Savage (retiring) Ulster Unionist — — Upper Bann Dobson, JoanneJoanne Dobson UUP 7.9% 7
Wilson, BrianBrian Wilson (retiring) Green Party in N. Ireland — — North Down Agnew, StevenSteven Agnew Green 7.9% 11

Seats changing hands between the parties

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
Bresland, AllanAllan Bresland
Kieran Deeny (retiring)		 Democratic Unionist
Independent		 10.3%
—		 0
—		 West Tyrone Hussey, RossRoss Hussey
Joe Byrne		 UUP
SDLP		 10.4%
8.5%		 5
Burns, ThomasThomas Burns SDLP 10.6% 0 South Antrim Lewis, PamPam Lewis DUP 8.9% 4
Cobain, FredFred Cobain Ulster Unionist 8.2% 7 Belfast North Bradley, PaulaPaula Bradley DUP 10.4% 6
Gallagher, TommyTommy Gallagher
Gerry McHugh (retiring)		 SDLP
Ind. (elected as SF)		 9.6%
—		 6
—		 Fermanagh &
South Tyrone		 Lynch, SeánSeán Lynch
Phil Flanagan		 Sinn Féin 10.7%
10.6%		 6
McClarty, DavidDavid McClarty Ind. (elected as UUP) 8.6% 7 East Londonderry McClarty, DavidDavid McClarty Independent 8.6% 7
McFarland, AlanAlan McFarland Ind. (elected as UUP) 6.7% 9 North Down Dunne, GordonGordon Dunne DUP 13.3% 2
O'Loan, DeclanDeclan O'Loan SDLP 9.1% 9 North Antrim Allister, JimJim Allister Trad. U. Voice 10.1% 9
Purvis, DawnDawn Purvis Ind. (elected as Prog. U.) 5.3% 11 Belfast East Cochrane, JudithJudith Cochrane Alliance 13.4% 7
Butler, PaulPaul Butler (retiring) Sinn Féin — — Lagan Valley Hale, BrendaBrenda Hale DUP 8.2% 7
Gibson, SimpsonSimpson Gibson (retiring)
[replaced Jim Shannon]		 Democratic Unionist — — Strangford Nesbitt, MikeMike Nesbitt UUP 11.0% 6
Robinson, KenKen Robinson (retiring) Ulster Unionist — — East Antrim McMullan, OliverOliver McMullan Sinn Féin 8.2% 10

Member returning with a different affiliation

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

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

Peter Robinson, DUP,
First Minister 
Martin McGuinness, Sinn Féin,
deputy First Minister 
Margaret Ritchie,
Social Democratic & Labour Party 

Electoral administration

Eligibility and proof of identity

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 the 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

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

References

  1. ^ "Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: Eligible Electorate Statistics" (PDF). http://www.eoni.org.uk/ni_assembly_election_-_eligible_electorate.pdf. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
  2. ^ "Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: Registered Voter Statistics" (PDF). http://www.eoni.org.uk/votes_polled_summary-2.pdf. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
  3. ^ Henry McDonald. "Ulster Unionists head for fourth place". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/06/northern-ireland-assembly-ulster-unionists-fourth. Retrieved 2011-06-03. 
  4. ^ "Allister outraged as Speaker retakes post with help of Sinn Fein", by Noel McAdam, The Belfast Telegraph, 13 May 2011 (retrieved on 18 May 2011)
  5. ^ a b "Sinn Fein's Francie Molloy likely to be Stormont Speaker in 2014", by Noel McAdam, The Belfast Telegraph, 13 May 2011 (retrieved on 19 May 2011)
  6. ^ "New Executive ministers to be appointed on Monday", BBC News, 16 May 2011
  7. ^ "Stormont Assembly votes in new team of Ministers", by Dan Keenan, The Irish Times, 17 May 2011 (retrieved 16 May 2011)
  8. ^ a b "Latest 2011 Election results". UTV. http://www.u.tv/election2011/results.aspx. Retrieved 2011-05-12. 
  9. ^ a b "Election 2011 - Northern Ireland - Constituencies". Bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/northern_ireland.stm. Retrieved 2011-05-12. 
  10. ^ Northern Ireland Council results, BBC, 11 May 2011 (retrieved on 13 May 2011)
  11. ^ NI Assembly Election 2011 Results, The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, retrieved Monday 9 May 2011
  12. ^ Westminster General Election (NI) Thursday 6 May 2010, 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", BBC News, 11 May 2011 (retrieved on 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", BBC News, 2 June 2011 (retrieved 6 June 2011)
  15. ^ "McClarty: withdraw Sinn Fein ‘scum’ remark or it’s no deal, Tom", 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", BBC, 11 May 2011 (retrieved 12 May 2011)
  17. ^ "Lord Alderdice calls for Stormont Speaker rules change". Bbc.co.uk. 25 January 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12574875. Retrieved 27 January 2011. 
  18. ^ "First day of new assembly term". Bbc.co.uk. 12 May 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13382983. Retrieved 17 May 2011. 
  19. ^ "Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: Electoral Identity Card" (PDF). http://www.eoni.org.uk/information_leaflet_-_electoral_identity_card-13.pdf. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
  20. ^ "UTV news report". http://www.u.tv/News/Legal-challenge-over-voting-ID-fails/bc078757-99e8-48df-8c0e-e8b57ba78911. Retrieved 21 May 2011. 
  21. ^ "NI Stormont Assembly election results: day two as it happened". BBC News. 2011-05-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/northern_ireland_politics/9478423.stm. Retrieved 2011-05-12. 
  22. ^ "Electoral chief defends staff over results delays". Bbc.co.uk. 2011-05-06. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13319182. Retrieved 2011-05-12. 

External links

Official sites

News reports

Party web sites, manifestoes and election broadcasts

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

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)

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See also