Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989

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Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989
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Long title An Act to amend the law relating to the franchise at elections to district councils in Northern Ireland, to make provision in relation to a declaration against terrorism to be made by candidates at such elections and at elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly and by persons co-opted as members of district councils, to amend sections 3 and 4 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972, and for connected purposes.
Citation 1989 c. 3
Dates
Royal assent 15 March 1989
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It brought in a law that required candidates standing for election in Northern Irish local and Northern Ireland Assembly elections to declare they would not, by word or deed, express support for or approval of proscribed organisations or acts of terrorism (that is to say, violence for political ends).

Contents

It had the effect of disqualifying numerous candidates in the 1989 Northern Ireland local government elections, particularly 23 candidates of the Republican Sinn Féin (RSF). [1]

Background

In Northern Ireland, elections to local government had historically been dominated by the unionist majority due to Catholic nationalist disincentive to take part in elections. In 1974, in order to encourage more Catholic participation the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, Sinn Féin; which had been designated as a proscribed terrorist organisation by the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1956, [2] was removed from the list of proscribed organisations. They then started to gain seats in local government. [3]

In 1983, following the IRA Harrods bombing, the British government considered making Sinn Féin a proscribed organisation again alongside the Ulster Defence Association unionist paramilitary group. [4] This proposal had support from the Democratic Unionist Party who claimed Sinn Féin were a front for terrorism and one newspaper called them "...the IRA in drag". [5] A report by Sir George Baker argued against proscription of both groups however, he did make comments suggesting legislation against those using terrorism during elections. [5]

Act

Baker's report was used as grounds for the creation of the Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989. [5] The act required that in order for any candidate to stand for election in Northern Ireland, they were required to make a declaration against terrorism. The full declaration is: "I declare that, if elected, I will not by word or deed express support for or approval of (a) any organisation that is for the time being a proscribed organisation specified in Schedule 2 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978: or (b) acts of terrorism (that is to say violence for political ends) connected with the affairs of Northern Ireland". [3] The act also disqualified anyone who had been imprisoned for longer than three months from standing for elected office in Northern Ireland for five years. [6]

Results

Though the act was primarily aimed at Sinn Féin in lieu of outright proscription, [3] Sinn Féin candidates agreed to sign the declaration. [7] Republican Sinn Féin however called it a "test oath" and refused to sign it. As a result, their candidates were banned from taking part in the 1989 Northern Ireland local elections. They also attempted to run candidates in the 2011 Northern Ireland local elections but their nominations were rejected because they again refused to sign the declaration as required by the Act. [7]

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1989 Northern Ireland local elections

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1989, with candidates contesting 565 seats.

1920 Irish local elections

Elections were held in January and June 1920 for the various county and district councils of Ireland. The elections were organised by the Dublin Castle administration under the law of the then United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK), and held while the Irish War of Independence was pitting UK forces against those of the Irish Republic proclaimed in 1919 by the First Dáil. Elections were held in two stages: borough and urban district councils in January; and county and rural district councils in June. Sinn Féin, which had established the First Dáil, won control of many of the councils, which subsequently broke contact with Dublin Castle's Local Government Board for Ireland and instead recognised the republican Department of Local Government. The election results provide historians with a barometer of public opinion in what would be the last elections held on an all-island basis: the Government of Ireland Act 1920 passed at the end of the year effected the partition of Ireland from 1921. The next local elections were held in 1924 in Northern Ireland and in 1925 in the Irish Free State.

1988–94 British broadcasting voice restrictions Partial ban on radio and TV broadcast in the UK of voices of certain Republican and Loyalist figures

From October 1988 to September 1994 the British government banned broadcasts of the voices of representatives from Sinn Féin and several Irish republican and loyalist groups on television and radio in the United Kingdom (UK). The restrictions, announced by the Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, on 19 October 1988, covered eleven organisations based in Northern Ireland. The ban followed a heightened period of violence in the course of the Troubles, and reflected the UK government's belief in a need to prevent Sinn Féin from using the media for political advantage.

References

  1. ↑ Elliott, Sydney; Smith, F.J. (1992), Northern Ireland: The District Council Elections of 1989, Queen's University of Belfast
  2. ↑ "Security or Tolerance?" (PDF). Roskilde University. Retrieved 10 May 2020.Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. 1 2 3 Flory, Maurice (2002). Terrorism and international law. Routledge. pp. 133–134. ISBN   1134819676.
  4. ↑ Phoenix, Eamon (27 December 2013). "NI state papers: Government considered proscribing Sinn Féin". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 D.A. Hill (1992). "PS/Secretary of State" (PDF). Ulster University. Retrieved 10 May 2020.Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ↑ Bew, Paul (1999). Northern Ireland: a chronology of the troubles. Gill and Macmillan. p. 225. ISBN   0810837358.
  7. 1 2 McGlinchy, Marisa (2019). Unfinished business: The politics of dissident Irish republicanism. Manchester University Press. pp. 180–181. ISBN   978-1526116222.
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