The Northern Ireland referendum of 1998 was a referendum held in Northern Ireland over whether there was support for the Good Friday Agreement. A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... Jump to: navigation, search Royal motto: Quis separabit (Latin: Who will separate?) Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area  - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 4th 1,685,267... The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998 by the British and Irish Governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. ...

Party support

All the main UK political parties (Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat) supported the Yes campaign, though the local branch of the Conservatives supported the No campaign. Of the local Northern Ireland parties represented in the Northern Ireland Peace Forum, the Ulster Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Sinn Fein, Alliance, Progressive Unionist Party, Ulster Democratic Party, Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and local "Labour" groups supported the proposals. Jump to: navigation, search The Labour Party is the principal centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland, and was the party of government in Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. ... The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP — Irish: Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is the smaller of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. ... Sinn Féin (in the Irish language ourselves or we ourselves; not as sometimes incorrectly translated, ourselves alone) is an Irish political party. ... The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), is a political party operating in Northern Ireland. ... The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) are a small political party from Northern Ireland. ... The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) were a small unionist political party operating in Northern Ireland. ... The Northern Ireland Womens Coalition is a non-sectarian political party in Northern Ireland. ... Labour - Federation of Labour Groups is the formally registered name of a collection of political organisations in Northern Ireland who aspire to become part of the Labour Party of Great Britain. ...

The only two parties in the Forum to campaign against the Agreement were the Democratic Unionist Party and the UK Unionist Party, though many prominent individuals in the Ulster Unionists also did so. Some minor parties campaigned against it. The Republican Sinn Fein, which does not run candidates in Northern Ireland because it does not recognize the legitimacy of the British territory, still opposes the agreement. The Democratic Unionist Party is a hardline Unionist party in Northern Ireland led by Ian Paisley. ... The UK Unionist Party (UKUP) is a small political party operating in Northern Ireland. ... Republican Sinn Féin (RSF) is a minor political party operating in Ireland. ...

Results

Another referendum on the agreement was held in the Republic of Ireland on the same day: see Ireland referendum, 1998. The Northern Ireland referendum was held on May 22, 1998. There was a large majority of 'Yes'. A total of 1,738 ballots were spoilt. Turnout was high, at 81.1%; this was much higher than the turnout in the equivalent referendum in the Republic of Ireland. May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

The electorate were asked to indicate: Do you support the agreement reached at the multi-party talks on Northern Ireland and set out in Command Paper 3883? In politics, an electorate is the group of entities entitled to vote in an election. ...

Turnout

The turnout was noticeably high and even more remarkably the turnout was quite even throughout the province, compared to many elections where turnout is highest in strong nationalist areas and significantly lower in unionist areas. It is estimated that approximately 147,000 people who do not normally vote in elections turned out to vote in the referendum, most of them in traditionally staunch unionist areas.

Government response

The government passed the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is part of the Labour governments constitutional reform programme. ...

See also

• Referendums in the United Kingdom
• Northern Ireland Assembly