NAN-F-9
Election
London, March 2, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Northern Ireland holds elections to its devolved assembly on Thursday after the British government failed to act as a broker in a deal to break a power-sharing impasse.
Some 1.25 million people are eligible to vote in the elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The election took place amid a crisis that began in early January with the resignation of Martin McGuinness, a veteran politician from Irish Republican Party Sinn Fein.
McGuinness resigned as deputy first minister of the devolved government and accused the rival Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of not respecting the spirit of political power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
The British government was forced to announce the election after Fein refused to nominate a new deputy to work with First Minister Arlene Foster of DUP, despite a last-minute intervention by Prime Minister Theresa May.
The distribution of assembly seats is likely to remain largely the same following the election, meaning Fein and the DUP will have to hold more power-sharing talks that most analysts do not expect to bear fruits.
Ahead of the election, Fein said its campaign issues would include its desire to “see the North of Ireland remains part of the European Union”.
He had pressed Foster to step down pending an investigation of a botched energy scheme that could cost taxpayers nearly 609 million dollars.
However, Foster stood her ground and accused Fein of politicising the issue.
OYE/AMY
Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Abdullahi Yusuf