Cross-community vote

Northern Ireland

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A cross-community vote or cross-community support is a form of voting used in the Northern Ireland Assembly according to the provisions of the 1998 Belfast Agreement.^[1] It requires the support of both communities in Northern Ireland, in other words majority of unionists and the majority of nationalist members of the Assembly.^[2] It is also used to a lesser extent at local government level.^{[citation needed]}

Background

Upon taking their seats members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are required to designate themselves as either "unionist", "nationalist" or "other". MLAs are free to designate themselves as they see fit, the only requirement being that no member may change his or her designation more than once during an Assembly session.^[3]

A vote will not automatically require cross-community support. A "Petition of Concern" must first be presented to the Speaker by at least 30 of the 108 members. In a cross-community vote the majority of unionists and the majority of nationalist votes are required to pass a motion put to the Assembly.^[4]

Designations

Designations	2011	2007	2003	1998
Unionist	56	54	59	58
Nationalist	43	44	42	42
Other	9	10	7	8

Note: These figures include the assumed designation of the Speaker who, having a non-partisan role, does not officially declare a designation.

Parties

List of current and previous assembly parties by designation.

Unionist

	Democratic Unionist
	NI Unionist
	Progressive Unionist
	UK Unionist
	Ulster Unionist
	United Unionist Coalition

Nationalist

	Sinn Féin
	SDLP

Other

	Alliance
	Green (NI)
	NI Women's Coalition

See also

• Consociationalism
• Demography and politics of Northern Ireland

References

1. ^ Minority Veto Rights in Power Sharing Systems: Lessons from Macedonia, Northern Ireland and Belgium by Shane Kelleher
2. ^ Section 3.7 - Standing Orders of the Northern Ireland Assembly - PDF file from the Assembly website.
3. ^ Section 3 - Standing Orders of the Northern Ireland Assembly - PDF file from the Assembly website.
4. ^ Section 27 - Standing Orders of the Northern Ireland Assembly - PDF file from the Assembly website.

External links

• Official website
• "The Nature of the British-Irish Agreement" by Brendan O´Leary