Alliance party under pressure to end crisis

The future of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive today remained in the balance as pressure mounted on the cross community Alliance Party to re-designate its Assembly members as unionists in a bid to save the institutions.

Alliance leader David Ford led a delegation of party members into a crucial meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid at Hillsborough Castle to avert a major crisis in the peace process.

With a midnight deadline looming for the election of new first and deputy first ministers, Alliance’s five Assembly members were still under pressure to re-designate as unionists in an attempt to help Ulster Unionist leader David

Trimble and incoming SDLP leader Mark Durkan get elected.

Mr Trimble and Mr Durkan failed yesterday under cross community voting procedures in the Assembly to take the top two posts in the power sharing executive - securing the majority of nationalists in the Assembly but falling one vote short of the majority of unionist MLA’s also required.

As he left Stormont following a round of intense telephone negotiations with the Government and other Northern Ireland political leaders, Mr Ford said he believed it was still possible to rescue the process.

‘‘We have had lengthy discussions this morning. We have been in contact with colleagues, we have been in contact with other parties and the British and Irish Governments and it is quite clear that there is a possible way through this problem,’’ the South Antrim MLA said.

‘‘We are seeking to play our part in resolving the problem that we are in at the moment.

‘‘At the moment, we are still waiting to hear from other parties to make sure that they are also playing their part.’’

Mr Ford said Alliance would be focusing at their meeting with Dr Reid on how the Government intended to hold a review of the voting system in the Northern Ireland Assembly that Alliance wants changed.

Under the cross community voting procedures, Assembly members have to designate themselves as unionist, nationalist or other.

But non-aligned MLAs tend to have been ignored in the outcome of crucial votes requiring cross-community consent.

It is understood Alliance is pressing for a weighted majority of two thirds of the Assembly to be applied instead of the current voting procedure.

The party has claimed that yesterday’s vote for first and deputy first ministers proved the folly of having a cross community voting system dependent on a majority of one community and a majority of the other.

Mr Trimble and Mr Durkan received the support of 70% of the Assembly members but still did not get elected under cross community voting procedures.

Alliance also has concerns about re-designating its MLAs as unionists if it means they will remain under that label until the next Assembly election.

They are pressing the British Government and other parties for a guarantee that they will be able to re-designate as unionist for 24 hours to facilitate the election and then change back again.

As the party headed into its meeting with Dr Reid, Mr Ford said: ‘‘I don’t think anyone in our party could stomach being a unionist or a nationalist for more than 24 hours.’’