Reuters AlertNet Lite - FACTBOX-Facts about Northern Ireland's Assembly

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FACTBOX-Facts about Northern Ireland's Assembly

05 Mar 2007 15:45:13 GMT
Source: Reuters

March 5 (Reuters) - Voters in Northern Ireland go to the polls on Wednesday to elect members of a moth-balled assembly where the British and Irish governments hope opposing parties will agree to share power from March 26.

Following are some key facts about the assembly:

-- The 108-seat assembly was set up under the 1998 Good Friday peace deal that sought to end three decades of violence between majority Protestant "unionists", who favour continued British rule, and Catholic "nationalists" who oppose it.

-- A 12-member home rule cabinet, known as the Executive, is drawn from the assembly. A First Minister and a deputy must be elected with the support of a majority of both the unionist and nationalist blocs in the assembly.

-- The assembly has a range of home rule powers over issues such as agriculture, education and health.

-- The first election for the assembly took place in June 1998, but throughout its short life it has been dogged by instability. Arguments over Irish Republican Army disarmament meant power was not transferred from London to Belfast until December 1999. Since then, Britain has suspended the assembly and reverted to direct rule from London four times.

-- The assembly met briefly in November last year as part of plans to restore a power-sharing government by March 26, 2007. A chaotic debate was cut short when a paramilitary killer threw a bag of explosives into Belfast's Stormont Assembly but London and Dublin insisted the March 26 deadline could still be met.

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Last updated:Mon Mar 5 15:46:49 2007