http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13285998
That is all the info there is at the moment. Polling doesn't finish till 10pm - 5pm EST.
Here's the results from 4 years ago:
| Quote: |
| In the 2007 Assembly election the DUP took 36 seats, Sinn Fein 28, the Ulster Unionists 18, the SDLP 16 and Alliance seven. |
I don't know how much you or anyone here knows about this countries politics. Here are the main parties:
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP): Right wing Christian party - considered Protestant Party - fourth largest party in UK House of Commons, conservative
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party
Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV): Right wing party - considered Protestant Party. Splinter group from DUP who have more traditional views - they are like a more extreme DUP - conservative
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Unionist_Voice
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP): Centre Right Party, conservative
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Unionist_Party
Sinn Fein: Left wing party, republican
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinn_F%C3%A9in
Alliance Party: Centre party - non-sectarian party
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_Party_of_Northern_Ireland
SDLP: Centre-left party
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SDLP
Green Party: Centre Party - not running this year to the best of my knowledge.
This is how it basically works. DUP and Sinn Fein are the two main parties within this country. Personally i don't vote for either for reasons i will discuss if asked.
These parties get the most votes. DUP and the other protestant parties are unionists i.e. they suppor the union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain = United Kingdom
Sinn Fein support republicanism and the union of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland - as it was before the split.
In that respect Northern Ireland is a different country and currently belongs to the UK. I have technically a dual nationality, i am both British and Irish. Though being from N.Ireland i tend to think of myself as Irish just as how people from Scotland are Scottish as well as British.
Basically if you know anything about the troubles in this country. It was a clash between Protestantism and Catholicism. Although the clashing is less now there is still a divide in politics.
Christian Protestants vote DUP, TUV, UUP and Christian Catholics: Sinn Fein.
That is why these parties get the most votes because it's essentially people holding onto dying traditions or basically because they are sectarian.
