Equality at the “crux” of political crisis
Posted By: March 04, 2017
Paul Ainsworth. Irish News. Belfast. Saturday, March 4, 2017
Sinn Fein’s Declan Kearney topped the poll in South Antrim and had a stark warning for the DUP.
Sinn Fein’s Declan Kearney topped the poll in South Antrim and had a stark warning for the DUP.
Picture by Arthur Alison. Pacemaker
Sinn Féin has topped the poll in South Antrim for the second time since power-sharing was restored in 2007, and has warned the DUP they will not accept Arlene Foster as the first minister until the conclusion of the RHI inquiry.
The party’s national chairperson Declan Kearney recorded 6,891 first preference votes – the first time SF topped the poll since Mitchell McLaughlin won the first ever Republican seat in the traditionally unionist constituency.
Speaking to The Irish News after his win, Mr. Kearney said upcoming negotiations on forming an executive would only succeed if the DUP were willing to “demonstrate a commitment to power sharing and equality in
the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement”.
Speaking of the 1998 deal, he continued: “We would need to see the implementation of all of its provisions which remain unimplemented. That will be the context for any negotiation.”
He also suggested that although it was “up to the DUP to decide its own leader,” Sinn Féin would not accept a nomination of Ms. Foster as the first minister before the outcome of the upcoming RHI inquiry.
“We have said it’s essential that [Ms. Foster] allows the RHI inquiry to report, so we will not be accepting her nomination as the first minister until the conclusion of that inquiry.”
Mr. Kearney added: “The absence of equality and respect goes to the very crux of this crisis.”
Another returning South Antrim MLA is the UUP’s, Stephen Aiken. Despite his party faltering elsewhere and losing big names such as Danny Kennedy, the former naval submarine commander shored up the UUP’s support in a constituency that has historically been kind to them. Mr. Aiken was elected on the fifth count.
As the afternoon rolled into the evening, those still awaiting a final result included former Alliance leader David Ford.
He said he remained “confident,” while also praising his party’s overall performance.
“If we hold eight seats in a 90-seat assembly, that’s significantly better than having eight in an assembly with 108 seats,” Mr. Ford said.
“This could be our best election since 1998.”
Meanwhile, the losers in South Antrim included the NI Conservative party’s Mark Logan, Green candidate Eleanor Bailey, and People Before Profit’s Ivanka Antova, all of whom were eliminated by the completion of the third round of counting.
Former UUP MLA Adrian Cochrane-Watson failed to regain the seat he took when party colleague Danny Kinahan was elected to Westminster in 2014, while the SDLP’s Roisin Lynch was knocked out by the sixth count stage.
Sinn Féin has topped the poll in South Antrim for the second time since power-sharing was restored in 2007, and has warned the DUP they will not accept Arlene Foster as the first minister until the conclusion of the RHI inquiry.
The party’s national chairperson Declan Kearney recorded 6,891 first preference votes – the first time SF topped the poll since Mitchell McLaughlin won the first ever Republican seat in the traditionally unionist constituency.
Speaking to The Irish News after his win, Mr. Kearney said upcoming negotiations on forming an executive would only succeed if the DUP were willing to “demonstrate a commitment to power sharing and equality in
the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement”.
Speaking of the 1998 deal, he continued: “We would need to see the implementation of all of its provisions which remain unimplemented. That will be the context for any negotiation.”
He also suggested that although it was “up to the DUP to decide its own leader,” Sinn Féin would not accept a nomination of Ms. Foster as the first minister before the outcome of the upcoming RHI inquiry.
“We have said it’s essential that [Ms. Foster] allows the RHI inquiry to report, so we will not be accepting her nomination as the first minister until the conclusion of that inquiry.”
Mr. Kearney added: “The absence of equality and respect goes to the very crux of this crisis.”
Another returning South Antrim MLA is the UUP’s, Stephen Aiken. Despite his party faltering elsewhere and losing big names such as Danny Kennedy, the former naval submarine commander shored up the UUP’s support in a constituency that has historically been kind to them. Mr. Aiken was elected on the fifth count.
As the afternoon rolled into the evening, those still awaiting a final result included former Alliance leader David Ford.
He said he remained “confident,” while also praising his party’s overall performance.
“If we hold eight seats in a 90-seat assembly, that’s significantly better than having eight in an assembly with 108 seats,” Mr. Ford said.
“This could be our best election since 1998.”
Meanwhile, the losers in South Antrim included the NI Conservative party’s Mark Logan, Green candidate Eleanor Bailey, and People Before Profit’s Ivanka Antova, all of whom were eliminated by the completion of the third round of counting.
Former UUP MLA Adrian Cochrane-Watson failed to regain the seat he took when party colleague Danny Kinahan was elected to Westminster in 2014, while the SDLP’s Roisin Lynch was knocked out by the sixth count stage.
