Northern Ireland Forum


The Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
The forum was elected, with five members being elected for each Westminster Parliamentary constituency for Northern Ireland, under the D'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation. There was also a "topup" of two seats for the ten parties polling most votes; this ensured that two loyalist parties associated with paramilitary groups were represented. See members of the Northern Ireland Forum for a complete list.

Functions and legislative basis

The Forum was constituted under the Northern Ireland Act 1996. The Forum was described in the Act as being purely deliberative in nature, and was explicitly stated to have no "executive, legislative or administrative" functions assigned to it, nor to have any authority over the Good Friday negotiations. It was permitted to consider, in a deliberative capacity, "any matter" referred to it by the negotiatiors.

Election results

The results of the election were:
All parties shown.
Note: The Democratic Unionist Party was listed on the ballot paper as "Democratic Unionist Party DUP Ian Paisley"

List candidates

Top-up candidates were elected from lists supplied by each party. The highest-placed candidates who had not already won election through a constituency won the top-up seats. In the table below, the top-up candidates elected through the regional list are shown in bold, while candidates elected in constituencies are shown in italics. Candidates in normal type were not elected.

Votes summary

Seats summary

Seats by constituency

Votes by constituency

Const.UUPSDLPDUPSFAPUKUPPUPUDPWCLabGPNIConWPUIMDLDPOMACNLIDUPATUIVCPIUCDPSeatsValidSpoiledTurnoutElectors
Belfast East8,6081,29911,2708627,1302,4963,8021,15640519916129114911445197 111393 38 538,4198038,49962,161
Belfast North6,9387,4937,7787,6811,6701,3293,7771,874486571265 27441123 252114 63 540,42310540,52865,411
Belfast South8,6177,9565,8182,4554,6891,7502,3211,66694733331427927010896133 520 31537,8088937,89763,890
Belfast West1,48911,0871,76922,355340 1,982848252319156609844337 123036 2628 541,85317342,02661,344
East Antrim10,0362,2139,5576193,9572,0412,2541,14132321822427169863310281514107 533,3515233,40357,989
East Londonderry11,3867,4518,7683,4132,1071,0406527283752411862087510045 514 536,7949936,89358,471
Fermanagh and South Tyrone15,54210,3996,58911,666831468410464461297208113199189128 1183623 548,14121448,35563,716
Foyle4,55319,9975,05411,61879032458049769554419192816540 2241 545,18412445,30866,598
Lagan Valley16,3674,0019,5921,1324,5082,2521,0723,0075201431753867216443 318 543,4552743,48270,045
Mid Ulster7,93512,4927,24313,0015494353803752592711321192102634193 2024 543,84215944,00157,683
Newry and Armagh11,04716,7754,77412,5851,03747464025735626220513120817346114 123155 549,18216549,34769,887
North Antrim11,1957,18516,4482,5792,5181,18566576827218715025960167401146701314 544,4897144,56071,799
North Down9,2701,7986,6992756,1867,5791,694651496171283444604995 3341597 49 536,2452636,27162,810
South Antrim12,0016,0259,5492,1493,3322,1111,6971,0004352361972461048911910533316 350 539,7977739,87468,898
South Down10,37920,2205,0606,1421,685 49740446492725119716213065117 1830 546,74814346,89169,035
Strangford12,5472,92711,5847094,6143,1122,0171,080410202213380735753 1313 66 540,0704440,11469,093
Upper Bann16,5929,8467,1345,6202,1528861,404402390512178 3111803671 414 545,7324945,78169,928
West Tyrone7,32711,6226,72711,5161,081292238397185792158119169107130 3045 540,93521141,14657,348
Northern Ireland181,829160,786141,413116,37749,17627,77426,08216,7157,7316,4253,6473,5953,5302,1251,2151,0469275673893883502046631110752,4681,908754,3761,166,106