Radical Protestant party tops N. Irish assembly election

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 29, 2003

Radical Protestant party tops N. Irish assembly election

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The radical Protestant Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which campaigns against the 1998 Good Friday peace accord, became the biggest party in the new Northern Ireland assembly by winning 30 seats, official voting results showed Friday.

The DUP secured a three-seat lead over its rival, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) which was the largest party at the 1998 assembly poll. The UUP won 27 seats this time.

On the Catholic side, Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republic Army (IRA), took 24 seats, followed by its moderate rival Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP) with 18.

There are rising fears that such results will make it much more unlikely to stir a quick breakthrough in the peace process deadlocked more than one year ago. The new assembly may not convene for weeks or even months.

The Protestant UUP and DUP are committed to keeping the union with Britain while the SDLP and Sinn Fein want to unite with the Irish Republic.

Hailing the success in the election, DUP leader Ian Paisley said Friday that it was inconceivable his hard-line party would talk or share power with Sinn Fein, ruling out hazy hopes the DUP may soften its stance.

Earlier on Friday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair held 45-minute talks with his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern in the Welsh capital city of Cardiff to review steps that could be taken to revive the assembly and the power-sharing, home-rule executive in the province.

The 1998 Good Friday peace accord "is an international agreement. It is not open for renegotiation ... But it is open forreview, and that review will shortly be put out for consultation once the elections are over," said Ahern in a statement after the meeting.

The two governments were expected to start a further round of negotiations together with leaders of all of Northern Ireland's major political groups from this weekend.

A four-year peace process brought into being a new assembly in the province in 1998 after a 25-year span, during which the province was under direct rule from London. The new assembly took over key powers and had a 12-member power-sharing ruling executive.

But the assembly was once again suspended more than a year ago and the parties went into the election against the background of adeadlocked political process.

Final results of Northern Ireland assembly election

LONDON, Nov. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- The radical Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which campaigns against the 1998 peace accord and has firmly ruled out negotiating with Irish Republic Army's political wing Sinn Fein, has become the biggest winner in the election to the 108-member Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly.

Here are the final results of the assembly seats taken by parties from both the Protestant and Catholic sides.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP, Protestant) 30

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, Protestant) 27

Sinn Fein (Catholic) 24

Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP, Catholic) 18

Catholic and Protestant (Alliance) 6

Independent 1

United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKU, Protestant) 1

Progressive Unionist Party (PUP, Protestant) 1

In the last assembly poll in 1998, the UUP became the largest party in the province by winning 28 seats, followed by the SDLP with 24 seats, the DUP with 20 and Sinn Fein with 18.

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