Northern Ireland: Assembly, 2 March 2017

At stake in this election:

• 90 seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly

Note on the results: The remaining 1 seat was won by an independent. Only parties which were awarded seats are listed.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
• Head of Government: former First Minister Arlene FOSTER (until 23 January 2017)*
• Assembly: Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) has a unicameral Assembly with 90 seats.**

* Officially, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government but the position of First Minister functions as the leader of the Northern Ireland government. Previous First Minister Arlene FOSTER was forced to resign 9 January 2017 following deputy first minister Marin MCGUINNESS's resignation over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. Currently, there is no acting First Minister.

** Total number of MPs reduced from 108 to 90 in the "Assembly Members (Reduction of Numbers) Bill" in 2016.

Description of electoral system:

• Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are elected by proportional representation to serve 5-year terms.

Last Election:

• Elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly were last held 5 May 2016. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) took 38 seats followed Sinn Fein with 28. Representatives of 8 political parties and 1 independent were inaugurated.
• Elections are supposed to be held every five years, however deputy first minister Martin MCGUINNESS resigned on 9 January 2017 over the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scandal. In the wake of his resignation the Assembly failed to nominate a new first minister, forcing snap elections.

Main candidates in the election:

• Democratic Unionist Party
  • Leader: Arlene FOSTER
  • Seats won in last election: 38
• Sinn Fein
  • Leader: Michelle O'NEILL
  • Seats won in last election: 28
• Ulster Unionist Party
  • Leader: Mike NESBITT
  • Seats won in last election: 16
• Social Democratic Labour Party / Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre
  • Leader: Colum EASTWOOD
  • Seats won in last election: 12
• Alliance Party of Northern Ireland / Páirtí Comhghuaillíochta Thuaisceart Éireann
  • Leader: Naomi LONG
  • Seats won in last election: 8
• Green Party
  • Leader: Steven AGNEW
  • Seats won in last election: 2
• Traditional Unionist Voice
  • Leader: Jim ALLISTER
  • Seats won in last election: 1
• Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit
  • Leader: Eamonn MCCANN
  • Seats won in last election: 2

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 1,840,500 (June 2014)
• Registered Voters: 1,281,595 (May 2016)

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 937,800 (June 2014 est.)
• Is Northern Ireland a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (22 July 1981)
• Has Northern Ireland ratified CEDAW: Yes (7 April 1986)
• Gender Quota: No
• Female candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Parliamentarians: 30 (27.78%)
• Human Development Index Position: 14 (2014)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

• Is Northern Ireland a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
• Has Northern Ireland ratified CRPD: Yes (8 June 2009)
• Population with a disability: 276,075