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UK rules out fresh election in Northern Ireland this year

Northern Ireland has been without a functioning devolved government since February when the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party began a boycott of the regional assembly in protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements.

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The deadline passed last week for forming a power-sharing government following elections in May.

London ruled out a December election to break political deadlock in Northern Ireland, where a standoff over post-Brexit trade rules is preventing resumption of a power-sharing government.

"I can now confirm that no Assembly election will take place in December, or ahead of the festive season," Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said in a written statement on Friday.

"Current legislation requires me to name a date for an election to take place within 12 weeks of 28 October and next week, I will make a statement in parliament to lay out my next steps," he added.

The UK government last week said it would call elections before the end of January, the second vote since May, after London and Belfast failed to resolve the post-Brexit spat.

Devolved government

The province has been without a devolved government since the pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party collapsed power-sharing in February over trenchant opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol governing trade rules in the wake of Britain's departure from the European Union.

"My objective, what the people of Northern Ireland deserve, is the restoration of a strong devolved government," Heaton-Harris said Friday.

"My duty is to create the right environment for the parties in Northern Ireland to work together to restore the devolved institutions and deliver on crucial issues impacting Northern Ireland's people."

These included a cost-of-living crisis amid sky-high inflation, he added.

SOURCE: AFP