Sinn Fein wins first election in Northern Ireland

Torr Head in Northern Ireland. File photoLONDON, May 7.Northern Ireland's Sinn Féin party, which advocates unification with Ireland, won the majority of seats in the region's legislative elections, Sky News reports. . The party won 27 seats, pushing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has 24 seats, into second place. The DUP has already said it could boycott the government. .In turn, British Minister for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis called on the parties to form an executive branch as soon as possible, starting with the appointment of the speaker of the assembly within 8 days. «The government remains committed to the Belfast Agreement (Good Friday) and will continue to work with the Northern Irish parties and the Irish government to realize their vision of reconciliation, equal and respect for rights,” he said in a statement from the British government. For the first time, Sinn Féin called for a referendum in Northern Ireland on reunification with the Republic of Ireland in 2016, after Britain voted to leave the European Union. The Irish authorities have said that after reunification, Northern Ireland will regain EU membership. In 2019, before Brexit, Sinn Féin repeated the call for a referendum. Ireland was partitioned in May 1921, after which an independent region of Northern Ireland was created within the UK.Britain urged to withdraw from NATO after the Ukrainian conflict