Two referendums would therefore have to be held: the first, an extra-constitutional referendum on the principle of reunification and the second to accept a constitutional amendment. This raises the question of whether two referendums should be held in the North. The result of the Good Friday agreement. A question will be asked of the voters of the Republic in the referendum on 22 May: the only two Forum parties that fought against the agreement were the Democratic Unionist Party and the UK Unionist Party, although many prominent figures in the Ulster Unionists did the same. Some smaller parties have campaigned against this. Republican Sinn Féin, who was not a candidate in Northern Ireland at the time, remains opposed to the deal. The agreement was for Northern Ireland to be part of the United Kingdom and remain in place until a majority of the population of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland wished otherwise. If this happens, the British and Irish governments will be “obliged” to implement this decision. At Westminster, the British government failed to comply with the terms of a referendum. Tony Lloyd, Shadow Secretary for Northern Ireland, also expressed skepticism about the appropriateness of a border poll in his day. In 2004, negotiations were held between the two governments, the DUP, and Sinn Féin, for an agreement to restore the institutions. The talks failed, but a document published by governments detailing the changes to the Belfast agreement was known as the “comprehensive agreement.” However, on 26 September 2005, it was announced that the Provisional Republican Army of Ireland had completely closed its arsenal of weapons and had “taken it out of service”.
Nevertheless, many trade unionists, especially the DUP, remained skeptical. Among the loyalist paramilitaries, only the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) had decommissioned all weapons. [21] Further negotiations took place in October 2006 and resulted in the St Andrews Agreement. The British government is virtually out of the game and neither parliament nor the British people have, as part of this agreement, the legal right to obstruct the achievement of Irish unity if it had the consent of the people of the North and The South… Our nation is and will remain a nation of 32 circles. Antrim and Down are and will remain a part of Ireland, just like any southern county. [20] Issues of sovereignty, civil and cultural rights, dismantling of weapons, demilitarization, justice and the police were essential to the agreement. The site also contains a chronology of Irish history, beginning with the first Norman invasion in 1169 and 9 April, on the eve of the agreement.
New updates on the situation ahead of the May 22 referendums will be available daily. As part of the Good Friday Agreement, BRITISH legislation specifically provides for an investigation into Northern Ireland`s borders. The Northern Ireland Act 1998 states that “if it seems likely, at any time, that a majority of voters will express the wish that Northern Ireland no longer be part of the United Kingdom and be part of a united Ireland,” said the Secretary of State, a Council order allowing for border consultation. Who are these people? The data is rather meagre, but I can make some inferences. There is a noticeable anti-correlation with the size of the nationalist vote. The more votes for the SDLP and the SF met in June 1998, the closer the two turnouts are.