Belfast, United Kingdom – Northern Ireland has witnessed a “seismic” election result after Thursday’s legislative vote.
Sinn Féin, a party that supports the reunification of Ireland and was once the political wing of the IRA, has become the biggest party in the legislative assembly.
Winning the most seats entitles Sinn Féin to the post of First Minister, making it the first time in Northern Ireland’s 101 year history that this post was not held by a unionist, who support remaining part of the United Kingdom.
The party managed to not only consolidate their vote but also increase it significantly, winning the largest vote share with 250,388 first preferences, compared with 184,002 for the nearest rivals, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Middle-ground parties such as the Ulster Unionists, the SDLP, and the Green Party were also squeezed, with prominent figures losing their seats.
Sinn Féin party leader Mary Lou McDonald, a member of parliament in the Republic of Ireland and on course to be the biggest party there by 2025, described the result as “an election of a generation”.
“It’s seismic in terms of what it represents,” Jon Tonge, professor of politics at the University of Liverpool and an expert on the region, told Al Jazeera.
Sinn Féin becoming the largest party “is extraordinary given the history of the state”, he said.
Any referendum on a united Ireland, a longtime aim of Sinn Féin and a key focus by the DUP in this election, can only be called by the British Secretary of State and is at least years away.
However, the election results are “another incremental step along that road”, said Tonge.
This is especially the case if in a few years’ time Sinn Féin is the largest party in both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland.
Speaking at a Belfast count centre about the prospects for a united Ireland, Sinn Féin leader McDonald told Sky News that “the preparation for that big change needs to happen now.
“We want this to happen in a way that is orderly, that is planned, that is democratic, and is peaceful,” she added, saying a referendum would “certainly” take place in this decade.
Alliance surge
The centrist Alliance party also received a surge in support, becoming the third largest party in terms of vote share and have more than doubled their seats.
Alliance define themselves as neither Irish nationalist nor unionist and do not take a position on the question of Irish unity.
The rise of this party to such prominence is a significant shift in the landscape of Northern Ireland politics.
Alliance’s David Honeyford took a new seat for his party in the Lagan Valley constituency.
He told Al Jazeera that voters in Northern Ireland are moving towards those “who prioritise the issues rather than the constitutional question”.
“We prioritise health and education, we work really hard on the ground for the issues people care about. And you’re seeing the results of that,” Honeyford said.
He acknowledged that many of their votes were coming from the middle-ground unionist, nationalist and other parties.
“The centre is solidifying around Alliance, but we’ve taken from the DUP and Sinn Féin as well,” he said. “So we’re attracting votes from right across the community.”
Jacqueline, an Alliance voter in her 30s in the Upper Bann constituency, was “delighted” at the result. She said that her mother, who was in her 60s and would have previously supported a unionist candidate, also supported Alliance in this election.
“It just goes to show that views have moved on here,” she told Al Jazeera.
Counting continues
The Ulster Unionist party (UUP) and the Irish nationalist SDLP both dropped a significant vote share.
