Elections in Northern Ireland

Elections in Northern Ireland are held on a regular basis to local councils, the Northern Ireland Assembly and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 members, elected in 18 five-member constituencies by the single transferable vote (STV) method.[1] Northern Ireland is represented at Westminster by 18 single-member constituencies elected by the first-past-the-post method.

Unlike in the rest of the United Kingdom, elections in Northern Ireland are administered centrally by the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland and the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland rather than by local authorities.

Elections to the United Kingdom House of Commons

Legend

U: Unionist; N: Nationalist; O: Other.

Election	DUP (U)	SF (N)	UUP (U)	SDLP (N)	APNI (O)	UKUP (U)	UPUP (U)	UUUP (U)	VUPP (U)	RLP (N)	PUP (U)	Unity (N)	NP (N)	Lab (O)	Ind U	Ind N	Ind Lab	Total	Total U	Total N	Total O
1922			11										2					13	11	2
1923			11										2					13	11	2
1924			13															13	13
1929			11										2					13	11	2
1931			11										2					13	11	2
1935			11										2					13	11	2
1945			9										2		1		1	13	10	2	1
1950			10										2					12	10	2
1951			9										2	1				12	9	2	1
1955		2	10															12	10	2
1959			12															12	12
1964			12															12	12
1966			11							1								12	11	1
1970			8							1	1	2						12	9	3
Feb. 1974	1		7	1					3									12	11	1
Oct. 1974	1		6	1					3							1		12	10	2
1979	3		5	1				1							1	1		12	10	2
1983	3	1	11	1			1											17	15	2
1987	3	1	9	3			1											17	13	4
1992	3		9	4			1											17	13	4
1997	2	2	10	3		1												18	13	5
2001	5	4	6	3														18	11	7
2005	9	5	1	3														18	10	8
2010	8	5		3	1										1			18	9	8	1
2015	8	4	2	3											1			18	11	7
2017	10	7													1			18	11	7
2019	8	7		2	1													18	8	9	1

• Sinn Féin have never taken their seats in the United Kingdom House of Commons due to their policy of abstentionism.
• UUP MPs sat as members of the Conservative Party until 1972.

By-elections

Gains are marked with a grey background.

Constituency	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Mid Armagh	23 June 1921	James Lonsdale		UUP	Henry Armstrong		UUP	Death
Belfast Duncairn	23 June 1921	Edward Carson		UUP	Thomas McConnell		UUP	Appointed Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
North Down	23 June 1921	Thomas Watters Brown		UUP	Thomas Watters Brown		UUP	Appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland
Mid Down	2 July 1921	James Craig		UUP	Robert Sharman-Crawford		UUP	Elected Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
West Down	5 July 1921	Daniel Martin Wilson		UUP	Thomas Browne Wallace		UUP	Appointed Recorder of Belfast
South Londonderry	29 August 1921	Denis Henry		UUP	Robert Chichester		UUP	Appointed Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
South Londonderry	18 January 1922	Robert Chichester		UUP	William Pain		UUP	Death
West Down	17 February 1922	Thomas Browne Wallace		UUP	Hugh Hayes		UUP	Appointed Chief Clerk to the High Court of Northern Ireland
North Down	21 February 1922	Thomas Watters Brown		UUP	Sir Henry Wilson, bt		UUP	Appointed to the High Court of Northern Ireland
North Londonderry	4 June 1922	Hugh T. Barrie		UUP	Malcolm Macnaghten		UUP	Death
North Down	21 July 1922	Sir Henry Wilson, bt		UUP	John Simms		UUP	Killed by the IRA
Londonderry	29 January 1929	Malcolm Macnaghten		UUP	Ronald Ross		UUP	Appointment to High Court of Justice of England and Wales
Fermanagh and Tyrone	7 March 1931	Thomas Harbison		Nationalist	Cahir Healy		Nationalist	Death
Fermanagh and Tyrone	27 June 1934	Joseph Devlin		Nationalist	Joe Stewart		Nationalist	Death
Down	10 May 1939	David Reid		UUP	James Little		UUP	Death
Belfast East	8 February 1940	Herbert Dixon		UUP	Henry Harland		UUP	Elevation to the Peerage
Queen's University of Belfast	2 November 1940	Thomas Sinclair		UUP	Douglas Savory		UUP	Resignation
Belfast West	9 February 1943	Alexander Browne		UUP	Jack Beattie		NI Labour	Death
Antrim	11 February 1943	Sir Joseph McConnell, Bt		UUP	John Dermot Campbell		UUP	Death
Down	2 June 194	James Little		Independent Unionist	C. H. Mullan		UUP	Death
Armagh	5 March 1948	Sir William Allen		UUP	James Harden		UUP	Death by road accident
Belfast West	29 November 1950	J. G. MacManaway		UUP	Thomas Teevan		UUP	Disqualified under the House of Commons (Clergy Disqualification) Act 1801
Londonderry	19 May 1951	Ronald Ross		UUP	William Wellwood		UUP	Appointment as Northern Ireland Government Agent in London
North Antrim	27 October 1952	Sir Hugh O'Neill		UUP	Phelim O'Neill		UUP	Resignation
Belfast South	4 November 1952	Conolly Gage		UUP	David Campbell		UUP	Resignation
North Down	15 April 1953	Walter Smiles		UUP	Patricia Ford		UUP	Died in MV Princess Victoria ferry disaster
Armagh	20 November 1954	James Harden		UUP	C. W. Armstrong		UUP	Resignation
Mid Ulster	11 August 1955	Tom Mitchell		Sinn Féin	Tom Mitchell		Sinn Féin	Disqualification
Mid Ulster	8 May 1956	Charles Beattie		UUP	George Forrest		Independent Unionist	Disqualification
Belfast East	19 March 1959	Alan McKibbin		UUP	Stanley McMaster		UUP	Death
Belfast South	22 October 1963	Sir David Campbell		UUP	Rafton Pounder		UUP	Death
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	9 April 1981	Frank Maguire		Independent Nationalist	Bobby Sands		Anti H-Block	Death
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	20 August 1981	Bobby Sands		Anti H-Block	Owen Carron		Anti H-Block	Death from hunger strike
Belfast South	4 March 1982	Robert Bradford		UUP	Martin Smyth		UUP	Killed by the IRA
Antrim North	23 January 1986	Ian Paisley		DUP	Ian Paisley		DUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Antrim East	23 January 1986	Roy Beggs		UUP	Roy Beggs		UUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Antrim South	23 January 1986	Clifford Forsythe		UUP	Clifford Forsythe		UUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast East	23 January 1986	Peter Robinson		DUP	Peter Robinson		DUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast North	23 January 1986	Cecil Walker		UUP	Cecil Walker		UUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast South	23 January 1986	Martin Smyth		UUP	Martin Smyth		UUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Down North	23 January 1986	James Kilfedder		UPUP	James Kilfedder		UPUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Down South	23 January 1986	Enoch Powell		UUP	Enoch Powell		UUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	23 January 1986	Ken Maginnis		UUP	Ken Maginnis		UUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Lagan Valley	23 January 1986	James Molyneaux		UUP	James Molyneaux		UUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
East Londonderry	23 January 1986	William Ross		UUP	William Ross		UUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Mid Ulster	23 January 1986	William McCrea		DUP	William McCrea		DUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Strangford	23 January 1986	John Taylor		UUP	John Taylor		UUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Newry and Armagh	23 January 1986	James Nicholson		UUP	Seamus Mallon		SDLP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Upper Bann	23 January 1986	Harold McCusker		UUP	Harold McCusker		UUP	Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Upper Bann	17 May 1990	Harold McCusker		UUP	David Trimble		UUP	Death
North Down	15 June 1995	Sir James Kilfedder		UPUP	Robert McCartney		UK Unionist	Death
South Antrim	21 September 2000	Clifford Forsythe		UUP	William McCrea		DUP	Death
Belfast West	9 June 2011	Gerry Adams		Sinn Féin	Paul Maskey		Sinn Féin	Resignation to contest the Louth constituency in the Irish general election
Mid Ulster	7 March 2013	Martin McGuinness		Sinn Féin	Francie Molloy		Sinn Féin	Resignation to end dual mandate as Member of Parliament and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
West Tyrone	3 May 2018	Barry McElduff		Sinn Féin	Órfhlaith Begley		Sinn Féin	Resignation

Recall petition

• 2018 North Antrim recall petition

Referendums

Northern Ireland–specific referendums

• 1973 Northern Ireland border poll
• 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum

United Kingdom–wide referendums

• 1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum#Results by United Kingdom constituent countries
• 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum#Results by constituent countries
• 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum#Results by constituent countries

Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly

Legend

U: Unionist; N: Nationalist; O: Other.

Election	DUP (U)	SF (N)	UUP (U)	SDLP (N)	APNI (O)	UKUP (U)	UPUP (U)	PUP (U)	VUPP (U)	UPNI (U)	NILP (O)	NIWC (O)	GPNI (O)	TUV (U)	PBP (O)	Ind U	Ind N	Ind O	Total	Total U	Total N	Total O
1973	8		31	19	8				7		1					4			78	50	19	9
1975	12		19	17	8				14	5	1					2			78	52	17	9
1982	21	5	26	14	10		1									1			78	49	19	10
1998	20	18	28	24	6	5		2				2				3			108	58	42	8
2003	30	24	27	18	6	1		1										1	108	59	42	7
2007	36	28	18	16	7			1					1					1	108	55	44	9
2011	38	29	16	14	8								1	1		1			108	54	45	9
2016	38	28	16	12	8								2	1	2	1			108	58	40	12
2017	28	27	10	12	8								2	1	1	1			90	40	39	11

• 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election
• 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election
• 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election
• 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election
• 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election
• 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election

Elections to the European Parliament

Main article: Northern Ireland (European Parliament constituency)

From 1979 to 2020, three of the seats in the European Parliament allocated to the United Kingdom formed a three-seat constituency elected by single transferable vote. It differed from European Parliament constituencies elsewhere in the United Kingdom which used the D'Hondt method. The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union on 31 January 2020, and the constituency was abolished.

Year
	DUP	SF	APNI	UUP	SDLP
1979	1	0	0	1	1
1984	1	0	0	1	1
1989	1	0	0	1	1
1994	1	0	0	1	1
1999	1	0	0	1	1
2004	1	1	0	1	0
2009	1	1	0	1	0
2014	1	1	0	1	0
2019	1	1	1	0	0

Ad hoc elections

• 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election
• Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (election in 1975)
• 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election
• Northern Ireland Forum (election in 1996)

Elections to the Northern Ireland House of Commons

• 1921 Northern Ireland general election
• 1925 Northern Ireland general election
• 1929 Northern Ireland general election
• 1933 Northern Ireland general election
• 1938 Northern Ireland general election
• 1945 Northern Ireland general election
• 1949 Northern Ireland general election
• 1953 Northern Ireland general election
• 1958 Northern Ireland general election
• 1962 Northern Ireland general election
• 1965 Northern Ireland general election
• 1969 Northern Ireland general election

By-elections

• List of Northern Ireland Parliament by-elections

Local elections

• 1973 Northern Ireland local elections
• 1977 Northern Ireland local elections
• 1981 Northern Ireland local elections
• 1985 Northern Ireland local elections
• 1989 Northern Ireland local elections
• 1993 Northern Ireland local elections
• 1997 Northern Ireland local elections
• 2001 Northern Ireland local elections
• 2005 Northern Ireland local elections
• 2011 Northern Ireland local elections
• 2014 Northern Ireland local elections
• 2019 Northern Ireland local elections

References

1. Whyte, Nicholas. "The Single Transferable Vote (STV)". Northern Ireland Elections. Retrieved 28 June 2016.

External links

• Adam Carr's Election Archive
• Parties and elections
• Northern Ireland Elections