 |
Tactical Bid Launched to Save N.Ireland Devolution
The Alliance Party in Northern Ireland agreed on Saturday to help Protestant moderate David Trimble secure re-election as the British-ruled province's First Minister to prevent the collapse of devolution.
Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid said the assembly will meet on Monday for a fresh vote and that a review will be needed to address the "need for adjustments to electoral arrangements."
The Alliance Party's move came after intensive talks throughout Saturday between its leaders and Reid.
The Alliance Party agreed to try to secure the Ulster Unionist leader's re-election to the top assembly post by redesignating some of its five assembly members as unionists.
Reid "warmly welcomed" the Alliance Party's "brave decision" and promised that concerns over the "fairness and efficiency" of the current voting system would be addressed.
He said he was aware of his responsibilities to set an election date. But he added: "For the moment I am sure that the right course is to enable the assembly to proceed with its business on Monday."
However, the anti-Agreement Democratic Unionists (DUP) said they may launch a legal challenge to Monday's vote.
Trimble failed in his attempt to get re-elected on Friday because he did not get a majority of support within the unionist assembly bloc, after two hard-liners in his party voted with anti-Good Friday Agreement unionists.
While he did gain a majority vote in the assembly overall, the support of a majority of both the unionist and nationalist blocs is still required.
By redesignating some members as unionists from the center ground, the Alliance Party can prevent the collapse of the current power-sharing arrangement in Northern Ireland.
Monday's election will decide whether Trimble will be Northern Ireland's First Minister and the Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP)'s leader-in-waiting, Roman Catholic moderate Mark Durkan, deputy First Minister.
Under the current legislation, the posts should have been filled by midnight on Saturday to prevent the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Saturday was the last day in the breathing period created by the Northern Ireland secretary when he suspended the assembly for six weeks because of disagreement between the parties, particularly over an absence of IRA disarmament.
Reid's decision to allow the election to go ahead on Monday could have legal implications.
As the Assembly members prepared to receive an Order Paper resulting in a re-run of the vote, anti-Agreement unionists were consulting legal advisers about whether it could go ahead.
Trimble, who had pulled his party out of the executive to put pressure on republicans, decided to stand for re-election after the IRA act of decommissioning two weeks ago.
But the assembly's cross-party majority voting rules prevented this on Friday.
Speaking after various meetings on Saturday, Alliance Party leader David Ford said: "I think if there is any message which should go out, it is that the Alliance Party is working to save the Agreement.
"Any suggestion that we are seeking to do it for the sake of an individual is completely wrong," he added.
In This Section
|