Historic day in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein, the political wing of the “Irish Republican Army” IRA, which has waged an armed struggle against Britain for years, won a majority in parliament for the first time.
The party, which is affiliated with the United Kingdom, that is, advocating the connection of the British-controlled region to the Republic of Ireland, won 27 deputies with 29 percent of the vote. The vote rate of the pro-British Democratic Union Party remained at 21.3 percent. Sinn Fein also became the first Irish nationalist party to win a majority in the Northern Ireland parliament.
Sinn Fein’s leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neil, reminded that the party’s goal is to connect the region to Ireland.
He called for an “honest discussion” for this.
A Sinn Fein majority won’t change the status of the region. A referendum is required for Northern Ireland to join Ireland. The power to hold a referendum is in the British parliament. It is stated that such a referendum can only take place years later.
Although the reunification of the island of Ireland is not yet possible, the symbolic meaning of Sinn Fein’s victory is immense. With its vote, Sinn Fein ended the century-old dominance of the pro-British parties, which were predominantly supported by the protestant population of the region.
The northern part of the island of Ireland, Northern Ireland, is under the control of the United Kingdom, that is, the British. The separatist organization called the “Irish Republican Army”, whose short name is IRA, has waged an armed struggle for the independence of Northern Ireland for 30 years since the second half of the 60s. The conflicts pitted the Catholic and Protestant populations of the region, also known as “Republicans” and “Unionists”.
Since Sinn Fein was seen as the political wing of the IRA at that time, it could not find enough space in the political structures both in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The period of conflict, known as “Troubles” in the UK, came to an end with the “Good Friday” agreement in 1998.
The agreement established a parliament in Northern Ireland; A system of government in which power is shared was created.
