How does power-sharing work in Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland is governed by a mandatory coalition. The First Minister and deputy First Minister come from the largest parties of two different designations, so far always one nationalist and one unionist. They share one joint office with equal powers.

Other ministries are shared out by seats, and key Assembly votes need support from both communities. If either the First Minister or the deputy leaves office, the other goes too, and the Executive can’t meet until both posts are filled.

The short version

• 90 MLAs, five for each of 18 constituencies, elected by single transferable vote. The next election is due on 6 May 2027.
• Every MLA has a designation: Nationalist, Unionist or Other.
• The largest party nominates the First Minister. The deputy comes from the largest party of the biggest designation other than the First Minister’s.
• One joint office. The First Minister and deputy First Minister have the same powers and jointly chair the Executive.
• D’Hondt shares out the departments by seats. The Justice Minister needs a cross-community vote instead.
• Key votes need cross-community support, and 30 MLAs can demand it on most other votes with a petition of concern.
• If one resigns, both go. The parties then have up to 24 weeks to fill the posts before a fresh election is due.

The Assembly and its designations

The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), five for each of 18 constituencies, elected by single transferable vote (nidirect). It had 108 MLAs, six per constituency, until the 2017 election.

When they take their seats, MLAs record a designation: Nationalist, Unionist or Other. An MLA who records none counts as Other. Designations decide who nominates the First Minister and deputy First Minister, and how cross-community votes are counted.

Under the Northern Ireland Act 1998, an MLA can change designation only on joining a different party or leaving one. An independent can change only on joining a party.

Elections fall on the first Thursday in May in the fifth calendar year after the last one. The last was on 5 May 2022, so the next is due on 6 May 2027. The Secretary of State can move it by up to two months (section 31).

How the First Minister and deputy First Minister are chosen

The Assembly doesn’t elect them: the parties nominate them. That rule came in with the St Andrews Agreement legislation in 2007. Before then, the Assembly elected the pair together, with cross-community support.

Under sections 16A and 16C of the Northern Ireland Act:

• The First Minister is nominated by the largest party of the largest designation.
• The deputy First Minister is nominated by the largest party of the second-largest designation.
• If the largest party overall isn’t in the largest designation, it nominates the First Minister instead, and the largest party of the largest designation nominates the deputy.

In effect, the largest party always nominates the First Minister. Party size means seats held on the day the Assembly first meets after the election.

That exception decided the outcome after 2022. Sinn Féin won the most seats, 27, but unionists were the largest designation, with 37 MLAs to 35 nationalists and 18 others. So Sinn Féin nominated the First Minister, and the DUP, as the largest unionist party, nominated the deputy.

Both nominees must affirm the pledge of office, and neither takes up office until both have (section 16A).

One office with two holders

The First Minister and deputy First Minister hold one joint office. They are joint chairs of the Executive Committee and together run the Executive Office (section 20). The titles differ, but the powers are the same.

How the other ministers are chosen

The Executive is the First Minister, the deputy First Minister and eight departmental ministers (Northern Ireland Executive). Seven of the eight departments are shared out by the d’Hondt formula.

Parties pick a department in turn. The order is set by each party’s seats divided by one plus the departments it already holds (section 18). The biggest departments aren’t always picked first: Health has often gone late in the round, sometimes to a smaller party (Institute for Government).

The Justice Minister sits outside d’Hondt. The appointment needs a cross-community vote of the Assembly.

A party entitled to a department can decline it and go into opposition. Since 2016 the Assembly has recognised an Official Opposition (NI Assembly). It is open to those parties, and to any with at least 8% of the seats and no ministers.

How the Executive takes decisions

Ministers run their own departments, but some decisions must go to the whole Executive. These are significant or controversial matters not covered by an agreed Programme for Government, and matters that cut across other ministers’ responsibilities (section 20). A minister has no authority to take such a decision alone (section 28A).

The Executive aims to decide by consensus. If it can’t, it votes, and any three members of the Executive can require that vote to have cross-community support.

For a public affairs team, one minister’s support may not be enough. A significant or contested ask may need backing from more than one party around the Executive table.

Cross-community votes and the petition of concern

Most Assembly decisions pass by simple majority. Some need cross-community support, including electing the Speaker, approving the Budget and changing the standing orders.

Cross-community support can be met in either of two ways (section 4):

• Parallel consent: a majority of MLAs voting, including a majority of the designated Nationalists voting and a majority of the designated Unionists voting.
• Weighted majority: 60% of MLAs voting, including at least 40% of the Nationalists voting and 40% of the Unionists voting.

A petition of concern makes most other votes need cross-community support too. It was reformed under the New Decade, New Approach deal of January 2020 and set in law in 2022 (section 42):

• 30 MLAs must present it, from at least two parties or including MLAs elected as independents.
• The vote waits for a 14-day consideration period, after which 30 MLAs must confirm the petition.
• It can’t be used on sanctions for a minister’s or MLA’s conduct, or on the vote on a Bill’s general principles.

One vote works differently. The Assembly’s periodic vote on keeping the Windsor Framework’s trade arrangements passes by simple majority. Cross-community support only decides whether the next vote comes in eight years or four.

The first vote, on 10 December 2024, passed 48 to 36 without cross-community support, so the next is due in 2028 (NI Assembly).

If the First Minister or deputy First Minister resigns

Either can resign at any time. If one leaves office for any reason, the other also ceases to hold office (section 16B). The Executive can’t meet until both posts are filled, though departmental ministers stay in post.

The parties have up to 24 weeks to fill the posts. That’s six weeks, extended three times by six weeks unless the Assembly votes, with cross-community support, not to extend. Departmental ministers can stay in post for up to 48 weeks from the vacancy (section 18).

If they’re still empty at the end, the Secretary of State must propose a date for an Assembly election within 12 weeks (section 32). Westminster has legislated more than once to put off that duty during long collapses, most recently to 8 February 2024.

Forming an Executive after an election

The new Assembly must meet within eight days of the election. Its first business is electing a Speaker by cross-community vote, and until it does, it can’t move on (Institute for Government).

The same clock then applies: the parties have up to 24 weeks from the first sitting to fill every post (section 16A). Ministers who were re-elected carry on as caretakers in the meantime.

If the period ends without an Executive, all ministers leave office. The Secretary of State must then propose a date for another election within 12 weeks.

What the Executive is responsible for

Most domestic policy is devolved, or “transferred”: health, education, housing, transport, agriculture, economic development, social security, planning and local government. Justice and policing followed in April 2010 (NI Assembly).

Westminster keeps “reserved” matters, such as broadcasting, telecommunications and financial services regulation. It also keeps “excepted” ones, including defence, international relations, national security, immigration and UK-wide taxation.

Where power-sharing comes from

The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement of 10 April 1998 set up the Assembly and Executive. Voters approved it on 22 May 1998, and it came into force on 2 December 1999 (GOV.UK).

The St Andrews Agreement of October 2006 changed how the First Minister and deputy are chosen, and the institutions returned on 8 May 2007. The New Decade, New Approach deal restored the Executive in January 2020.

In 2022, the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act brought in the 24-week periods. It also wrote the petition of concern reforms into law.

The institutions have been down for long stretches since 1998:

• February to May 2000, under suspension.
• October 2002 to May 2007, under suspension.
• January 2017 to January 2020, after Martin McGuinness resigned as deputy First Minister.
• February 2022 to February 2024, after Paul Givan resigned as First Minister over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The last gap ended on 3 February 2024, after the UK government’s Safeguarding the Union paper brought the DUP back. Michelle O’Neill became the first First Minister from a nationalist party.

Who holds office now

As of October 2026, Michelle O’Neill (Sinn Féin) is First Minister and Emma Little-Pengelly (DUP) is deputy First Minister, both since 3 February 2024.

Sinn Féin holds four Executive posts, including First Minister, and the DUP three, including deputy First Minister. Alliance holds two (Justice, and Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs), and the UUP one (Health). The SDLP is the Official Opposition, led by Matthew O’Toole.

Most of our guide to meeting MPs and ministers applies to MLAs and Executive ministers too. GovConnex Monitoring follows the Assembly’s Official Report and committees alongside Westminster and Holyrood.

Common questions

Who is the First Minister of Northern Ireland? Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin, since 3 February 2024, with Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP as deputy First Minister (as of October 2026). She is the first First Minister from a nationalist party.

Does the deputy First Minister have less power than the First Minister? No. The two hold one joint office with the same powers and jointly chair the Executive. The titles differ because the largest party nominates the First Minister.

What happens if the First Minister resigns? The deputy First Minister also ceases to hold office, and the Executive can’t meet. The parties have up to 24 weeks to fill both posts. After that, the Secretary of State must set an Assembly election within 12 weeks.

What is a petition of concern? A petition by 30 MLAs, from at least two parties or including independents, that makes an Assembly vote need cross-community support. It can’t be used on sanctions for conduct or on the vote on a Bill’s general principles.

When is the next Northern Ireland Assembly election? It is due on Thursday 6 May 2027, five years after the last one in May 2022. The Secretary of State can move it by up to two months. An earlier election would follow if the First Minister and deputy First Minister posts fell vacant and weren’t filled within 24 weeks.