A political earthquake, as Sinn Féin takes 29% of first vote in Northern Ireland

With all the first votes counted in the Northern Ireland elections of May 6 for the regional assembly, Sinn Féin caused a political earthquake, taking 29 per cent of the first vote.

Sinn Féin, campaigning to reunite Southern and Northern Ireland, have secured significantly more first votes cast than the nearest rivals, the unionist Democratic Union Party.

The strong showing by the party comes as the region grapples with the fallout of the deal agreed by Boris Johnson with the European Union, which has led to shortages of some products and higher prices.

Although all first votes have been tallied, the overall result could be different with second votes still to be counted, in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement that guarantees proportional representation.

The result adds to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s woes after a poor showing in local elections across England, which has seen the Conservative Party lose control of London.

What a day for Sinn Féin!!! Thank you for all your support. 🇮🇪🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xXNo9breHS

— Friends of Sinn Féin USA (@FOSFUSA) May 6, 2022

https://twitter.com/FOSFUSA/status/1522644576997097473?s=20&t=sIOjcjHHxzwsPqsIeqKlbw

Sinn Féin, whose candidates were split equally between men and women, has said that there will be a border poll within five years along the lines of that undertaken in Scotland. If successful that would see the two Irelands reunited, however for such a poll to take place Sinn Féin will still have to convince the British Government to allow it to go ahead.

https://twitter.com/SineadMaireNiB/status/1522655077256814592?s=20&t=sIOjcjHHxzwsPqsIeqKlbw

But for now Sinn Féin will celebrate being the largest party in Northern Ireland with 29 per cent of the first vote counted in Northern Ireland

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