© Associated Press
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The largest parties in Northern Ireland have seven days to form a government after the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Arlene Foster, officially informed the parliament that he was resigning from the post of the first minister of the district, Reuters reported.
The DUP is expected to nominate Social Conservative Paul Givan for the post, but if nationalist Sinn Fein refuses to nominate a deputy prime minister, it will mean the regional executive is unable to work and early elections may follow.
Sinn Fein insists that the nomination of prime minister and deputy prime minister be accompanied by the application of the cultural elements of the so-called New Decade, New Approach agreement, which restored the principle of separation of powers last year. .
The agreement included measures to preserve the Irish language and the language of the Ulster Scots in the form of amendments to the 1998 Act, which allowed Northern Ireland to have its own regional parliament after decades of direct rule from London. The new leader of DUP, Edwin Putts, told BBC Radio Ulster today that he was committed to implementing “all aspects of the (agreement)” New Decade, New Approach “, but added that the provisions of the agreement concerning the Irish, cannot be a precondition for the election of the first minister.
Foster, who took power in Northern Ireland in 2016, was ousted in April after a majority of DUP lawmakers signed a letter of confidence. The reason for this was accusations against Foster by many of failing to address the Brexit talks.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
He had a huge influence while supporting the government
of former British Prime Minister Theresa May in power. At the time, Arlene Foster was able to oppose any compromise on Northern Ireland in the Brexit negotiations with the European Union.
Foster’s decision to support May’s successor, Boris Johnson, had the opposite effect, as he violated one of the most important borders for DUP, from which it would never back down, namely to accept Brussels’ request for trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
The resulting Northern Ireland Protocol leaves the EU’s trade sphere, avoiding the establishment of a customs border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but this angered pro-British unionists because it undermined Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom. / BTA
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