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Stormont NI Election cancelled: what is happening and what it means for the people

What has happened in very simplified terms:

• Devolved government has not functioned since February, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) blocking the formation of the ruling executive.


• The most recent assembly election in May resulted in Sinn Féin winning the most seats for the first time. That meant Michelle O'Neill from Sinn Féin was entitled to the role of first minister.


• The DUP was the second-biggest party but it refused to nominate a deputy first minister, meaning a governing executive for Northern Ireland could not be formed.


• The DUP has refused to return to power-sharing at Stormont until the Northern Ireland Protocol is scrapped or changed.


• The protocol keeps Northern Ireland aligned with some EU trade rules to ensure that goods can move freely across the Irish land border after Brexit.


• Unionist parties argue that it has undermined Northern Ireland's place within the UK by effectively creating a trade border with England, Scotland and Wales.


My thoughts:

Right now, it feels as though stormont are at a strandstill. It feels as though voting back in May was pointless and that there's no point in bothering this time around. Democracy in Northern Ireland is rapidy falling out of our grasp and tensions are building. People are pointing their fingers at others. Assigning blame. They are doing everything that they can to rationalise everything and make it make sense.


Its Sínn Fein's fault. It's the DUP's fault. Its Nationalists, Its Unionists. It's catholics, It's protestants. Its black not white and its your fault not my fault. These political blame games distract from actual concrete decisions that can change things for the better. It delays the action on the cost of living crisis, the healthcare crisis, the climate crisis and everything else.


We will never be able to move forward if we keep thinking like this, because no side is perfect. No side is the correct side. We need to put our blame, our hate, and our pride aside. We need to focus on the issues that are affecting people right now, today. We need to unite ourselves instead of alienating and segregating communities more than they already have been. Because no matter what side of the divide you are from, there is one thing that noone can debate. We are all humans. Homo sapiens. On the inside, we are no different. We all deserve to live in a better world. And we can. We will.


This time around, vote for peace, vote for action, vote for a better world. Vote for humans, and for us not just surviving, but thriving.


I don't have much faith that Stormont will be able to do their jobs better this time around, as they have proven that and have disapointed us many times before. However, I do have faith in humans. We can make this the world that we want it to be. We have collective power when we unite together. We have the choice whether to vote or not, to protest or not, to stand up for ourselves or not. Make sure your choice is the right one. The one that will make Northern Ireland a safe, happy country to live in. We can either fight for it or we can let the world burn around us. I trust you will make the right choice.



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