The election will be held in the shadow of uncertainty over Britain’s planned withdrawal from the European Union, a move that is broadly unpopular in Northern Ireland. Though a majority of Britons voted in a June referendum for “Brexit,” as the withdrawal is known, the vote in Northern Ireland was 56 percent to 44 percent against. The unionists are allied in London with the Conservative Party, which is pursuing Brexit, while Sinn Fein wants Northern Ireland to stay in the European Union and eventually reunite with Ireland. The secretary of state for Northern Ireland, James Brokenshire, announced the dissolution of the Assembly and the timing of the early election Monday evening. There is little sign that Northern Ireland has been a significant concern in London as the British government works out its strategy for Brexit.

Source: New York Times January 16, 2017 22:09 UTC