Elections in Northern Ireland
Encyclopedia
Elections in Northern Ireland are held on a regular basis to the Northern Ireland Assembly
, the Parliament of the United Kingdom
, and to the European Parliament
. Regular elections are also held in Northern Ireland
to local councils
.
The Northern Ireland Assembly
has 108 members, elected in 18 six-member constituencies by the single transferable vote
(STV) method. Northern Ireland is represented at Westminster by 18 single-member constituencies elected by the first past the post method, and at the European Parliament by a single constituency
returning 3 MEPs by the STV method.
Elections to the European Parliament
Elections to the British House of Commons
|}
Elections to the Northern Ireland House of Commons
Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
, the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, and to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. Regular elections are also held in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
to local councils
Local government in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is divided into 26 districts for local government purposes. In Northern Ireland local councils do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom, for example they have no responsibility for education, for road building or for housing...
.
The Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
has 108 members, elected in 18 six-member constituencies by the single transferable vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
(STV) method. Northern Ireland is represented at Westminster by 18 single-member constituencies elected by the first past the post method, and at the European Parliament by a single constituency
Northern Ireland (European Parliament constituency)
Northern Ireland is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects three MEPs using the Single Transferable Vote, the only United Kingdom constituency to do so.- Members of the European Parliament :- 2009 :...
returning 3 MEPs by the STV method.
Elections to the European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
- Northern Ireland (European Parliament constituency)Northern Ireland (European Parliament constituency)Northern Ireland is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects three MEPs using the Single Transferable Vote, the only United Kingdom constituency to do so.- Members of the European Parliament :- 2009 :...
Elections to the British House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
|}By-elections
- South Antrim by-election, 2000South Antrim by-election, 2000Clifford Forsythe, the Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for South Antrim, died on April 27, 2000, precipitating a by-election.-Candidates:...
- North Down by-election, 1995North Down by-election, 1995The North Down by-election, in the North Down constituency, was held on 15 June 1995, following the death of James Kilfedder, who had represented the constituency since the 1970 general election...
- Upper Bann by-election, 1990Upper Bann by-election, 1990The 1990 by-election in Upper Bann was caused by the death of the sitting Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament Harold McCusker on February 2, 1990....
- Northern Ireland by-elections, 1986Northern Ireland by-elections, 1986The 1986 Northern Ireland by-elections were fifteen by-elections held on 23 January 1986, to fill vacancies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom caused by the resignation in December 1985 of all sitting Unionist Members of Parliament...
- Belfast South by-election, 1982Belfast South by-election, 1982The Belfast South by-election was held on 4 March 1982 following the death of Robert Bradford, Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Belfast South....
- Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election, August 1981
- Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election, April 1981
- Mid Ulster by-election, 1969Mid Ulster by-election, 1969The Mid Ulster by-election was held on 17 April 1969, following the death of Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster, George Forrest. The two-way contest was unusual in featuring two women candidates....
- Belfast South by-election, 1963Belfast South by-election, 1963The Belfast South by-election of 22 October 1963 was held after the death of Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament Sir David Campbell on 12 June the same year. The seat was retained by the Ulster Unionists.-Results:-References:***...
- Belfast East by-election, 1959Belfast East by-election, 1959The Belfast East by-election of 19 March 1959 was held after the elevation to the Peerage of Ulster Unionist Party MP Alan McKibbin:The seat was safe, having been won by Unionists at the United Kingdom general election, 1955 by nearly 14,000 votes...
- Mid Ulster by-election, 1956Mid Ulster by-election, 1956The by-election held in Mid Ulster on 8 May 1956 was called because both candidates in the Mid Ulster by-election, 1955 were disqualified. Tom Mitchell was disqualified from assuming office because he was a convicted felon. Charles Beattie was awarded the seat but he was also disqualified because...
- Mid Ulster by-election, 1955Mid Ulster by-election, 1955The by-election held in Mid Ulster on 11 August 1955 was called as a result of a vote in the British parliament on 18 July 1955 which voted 197 votes to 63 to nullify the result of the previous 1955 UK General Election in the constituency...
- Armagh by-election, 1954Armagh by-election, 1954The Armagh by-election was held on 20 November 1954, following the resignation of Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament James Harden.Harden had held the seat of Armagh since a by-election in 1948, and had not faced a contest since then...
- North Down by-election, 1953
- Belfast South by-election, 1952Belfast South by-election, 1952The Belfast South by-election, 1952 was held following the resignation of Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament, Hugh Gage.-History:...
- North Antrim by-election, 1952
- Londonderry by-election, 1951
- Belfast West by-election, 1950Belfast West by-election, 1950There was a by-election for Belfast West constituency on 29 November 1950.It occurred after the winner at the 1950 UK general election, James Godfrey MacManaway, was disqualified as he was a priest....
- Armagh by-election, 1948Armagh by-election, 1948The Armagh by-election was held on 5 March 1948, following the death of Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament William Allen.Allen had held the seat of Armagh since its recreation for the 1922 UK general election...
- Down by-election, 1946Down by-election, 1946The Down by-election was held on 6 June 1946, following the death of James Little, the independent Unionist Member of Parliament for Down.The Down constituency elected two members...
- Antrim by-election, 1943
- Belfast West by-election, 1943Belfast West by-election, 1943The Belfast West by-election 1943, was a by-election held on 9 February 1943 for the British House of Commons constituency of Belfast West, in Northern Ireland...
- Queen's University of Belfast by-election, 1940
- Belfast East by-election, 1940
- Down by-election, 1939
- Fermanagh and Tyrone by-election, 1934
- Fermanagh and Tyrone by-election, 1931
- Londonderry by-election, 1929
- North Down by-election, July 1922
- North Londonderry by-election, 1922
- North Down by-election, February 1922
- West Down by-election, 1922
- South Londonderry by-election, 1922
- South Londonderry by-election, 1921
- Mid Down by-election, 1921
- Mid Armagh by-election, 1921
- Belfast Duncairn by-election, 1921
- North Down by-election, 1921
- West Down by-election, 1921
Elections to the Northern Ireland House of CommonsHouse of Commons of Northern IrelandThe House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act...
- Northern Ireland general election, 1921
- Northern Ireland general election, 1925Northern Ireland general election, 1925The Northern Ireland general election, 1925 was held on 3 April 1925. It was the second election to the Parliament of Northern Ireland. It saw significant losses for the Ulster Unionist Party, although they maintained their large majority. This was the last election for the Stormont parliament...
- Northern Ireland general election, 1929Northern Ireland general election, 1929-References:*...
- Northern Ireland general election, 1933Northern Ireland general election, 1933-References:*...
- Northern Ireland general election, 1938Northern Ireland general election, 1938-References:*...
- Northern Ireland general election, 1945
- Northern Ireland general election, 1949Northern Ireland general election, 1949-References:*-See also:*MPs elected in the Northern Ireland general election, 1949...
- Northern Ireland general election, 1953Northern Ireland general election, 1953-References:*...
- Northern Ireland general election, 1958Northern Ireland general election, 1958-References:*-See also:*MPs elected in the Northern Ireland general election, 1958...
- Northern Ireland general election, 1962Northern Ireland general election, 1962-Seats summary:-References:*...
- Northern Ireland general election, 1965Northern Ireland general election, 1965-Seats summary:-References:*...
- Northern Ireland general election, 1969Northern Ireland general election, 1969-References:*...
Ad-hoc elections
- Northern Ireland assembly elections, 1973
- Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention elections, 1975
- Northern Ireland assembly elections, 1982Northern Ireland assembly elections, 1982The Northern Ireland Assembly elections were held on 20 October 1982 in an attempt to re-establish devolution and power-sharing in Northern Ireland...
- Northern Ireland Forum elections, 1996
Elections to the Northern Ireland AssemblyNorthern Ireland AssemblyThe Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
- Northern Ireland Assembly Election, 1998Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998-Seats summary:-Details:Although the SDLP won the most first preference votes, the Ulster Unionists won the most seats in the Assembly. This has been attributed to several reasons, including:...
- Northern Ireland Assembly Election, 2003Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...
- Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...
- Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2011
Local elections
- Northern Ireland local elections, 1973Northern Ireland local elections, 1973Local government in Northern Ireland was reorganised in 1973 by the Local Government Act 1971 and the Local Government Act 1972...
- Northern Ireland local elections, 1977Northern Ireland local elections, 1977Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in May 1977.The elections saw good performances by the four largest parties: the Ulster Unionist Party , Social Democratic and Labour Party , Alliance Party of Northern Ireland and Democratic Unionist Party , while smaller parties failed...
- Northern Ireland local elections, 1981Northern Ireland local elections, 1981Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1981.-Overall:-Belfast:...
- Northern Ireland local elections, 1985Northern Ireland local elections, 1985Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 15 May 1985.-1981 elections:The previous elections had been fought in the middle of the hunger strike and the H-Block Prison Protest...
- Northern Ireland local elections, 1989Northern Ireland local elections, 1989Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1989.-Background:The elections took place after a turbulent period in Northern Irish politics. The signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in November 1985 had been followed by widespread protests by those in the Unionist community...
- Northern Ireland local elections, 1993Northern Ireland local elections, 1993Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 19 May 1993.-Overall:-Belfast:-References:...
- Northern Ireland local elections, 1997Northern Ireland local elections, 1997Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 21 May 1997, shortly after the 1997 general election across the entire United Kingdom.-Overall:-Belfast:-References:...
- Northern Ireland local elections, 2001Northern Ireland local elections, 2001Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 7 June 2001 along with the 2001 general election across the entire United Kingdom.-Overall:-Belfast:-References:...
- Northern Ireland local elections, 2005Northern Ireland local elections, 2005Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 5 May 2005 along with the 2005 general election across the entire United Kingdom and local elections in England.-Results:-Belfast:-Derry:...
- Northern Ireland local elections, 2011Northern Ireland local elections, 2011The most recent Northern Ireland local government elections took place on Thursday 5 May 2011.European Union and Commonwealth citizens who were aged 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote...