NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY ELECTION, 2003

Most of the major parties in Northern Ireland have finished nominating their candidates in anticipation of an election. Of these parties so far Sinn Féin has nominated the most women candidates, with their five incumbents and three newcomers forming almost a quarter of their total nominated to date. The two Unionist parties, as in 1998, have the fewest women candidates among the major parties. Table 1 shows how many women each party has selected, while Table 2 shows what the situation was at the last election for comparison. Of those elected last time the SDLP's Bríd Rodgers and Ulster Unionist Joan Carson are retiring, while Annie Courtney was not reselected. It is not presently known whether former Unionist Pauline Armitage will seek re-election as an Independent. While Northern Ireland's parties have nominated fewer women than those in the other devolved regions the figures are far better than during previous periods of devolution. All candidates are listed on a separate page.

Since the last Assembly election the UK government has passed a law enabling parties to use positive discrimination to facilitate the nomination of women (read about the Act here). Although the media has focused on this Act's implications for Labour and the Conservatives, the Act also applies at the devolved level and it is in Northern Ireland where it could make the greatest difference. CAWP has asked the main parties in Northern Ireland if they intend to take advantage of this new law. The UUP's election director revealed that the party has urged its constituency associations to pay heed to gender and age in candidate selection, and the SDLP similarly encouraged selectors to consider age, gender and geography but neither have any set policies. The DUP's campaign director reiterated his party's opposition to positive discrimination but expressed the hope that women would come forward and be selected as candidates. The Alliance has no policy for facilitating the nomination of women but nonetheless has achieved one of the best gender-balances in its slate of candidates, and we received no reply from the PUP. Alone among the parties Sinn Féin identified policies in place to encourage women. Their Women's Forum provides training for women candidates, and the party provides funds for child care expenses to candidates of either gender.

The fact that most parties have nominated a similar percentage of women to what they achieved in 1998 suggests that any increased awareness of this issue raised by the debate at Westminster has had little or no impact in Northern Ireland. The much-heralded election of a record three women MPs in 2001, and the less high profile but nonetheless significant election of a record number of women councillors that year, were obviously not the start of a trend. With nominations as they currently stand this election is unlikely to witness a repeat the breakthroughs of recent elections but will at best see the number of women MLAs hold steady, at the bottom of the UK rankings.

Table 1: Gender breakdown of Northern Ireland Assembly candidates, 2003
(As of 1 May 2003)