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NORTHERN IRELAND

COUNTRY	Northern Ireland (Part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
ELECTION TYPE	Devolved Assembly election
DATE	November 26, 2003

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At stake in this election:

Description of government structure:

Head of State: Queen ELIZABETH II
Head of Government: Prime Minister Tony BLAIR
Assembly: Northern Ireland has an assembly which consists of 108 seats.*
*Note: Due to conflict between the political parties in parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended on October 2002.

Description of electoral system:

Six representatives are elected in each of the region’s 18 constituencies via proportional representation. Members serve five year terms.

Results from the parliamentary race:

Party: Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Leader: Rev. Ian PAISLEY
Seats won in this election: 30
Seats won in last election: 20
Party: Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
Leader: David TRIMBLE
Seats won in this election: 27
Seats won in last election: 28
Party: Sinn Féin (SF)
Leader: Gerry ADAMS
Seats won in this election: 24
Seats won in last election: 18
Party: Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP)
Leader: Mark DURKAN
Seats won in this election: 18
Seats won in last election: 24
Party: Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI)
Leader: David FORD
Seats won in this election: 6
Seats won in last election: 6
Party: UK Unionist Party (UKUP)
Leader: Bob MCCARTNEY
Seats won in this election: 1
Seats won in last election: 5
Party: Progressive Unionist Party (PUP)
Leader: David ERVINE
Seats won in this election: 1
Seats won in last election: 2

When was the last election?

Population and number of registered voters:

Is there anything unique about this upcoming election that would be of interest to an international audience?

On October 14, 2002 the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended and formally dissolved on April 28, 2003 due to irreconcilable differences between the Unionist and republican parties in the assembly.
The UUP and the Sinn Fein broke off talks on a power sharing agreement due to differences over the issue of arms decommissioning by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTION SYSTEMS (IFES)

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: IFES ELECTIONGUIDE ONLINE