Sinn Fein Hails ‘New Era’ for Northern Ireland as Biggest Party

  • Party to nominate region’s first nationalist first minister
  • Surge in support for centrist Alliance Party in third place
Michelle O’Neill makes her election acceptance speech in Magherafelt on May 7.Photographer: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
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Sinn Fein is the biggest party in Northern Ireland’s Assembly for the first time, a historic election result that marks a significant shift in the region’s balance of power and sends a strong message to Boris Johnson’s government in London.

The nationalist party -- whose ultimate goal is to unite Northern Ireland with the neighboring Republic of Ireland -- won the largest number of seats and intends to nominate its northern leader Michelle O’Neill as the region’s first minister.