Statement by TUV leader, Jim Allister:-
“As the Republic’s election process concludes a number of telling contrasts with our election on 5th May require comment.
“Electors in the Republic, like in every other democratic country, were afforded the opportunity to vote parties out of government and change their government. We in Northern Ireland, as in North Korea, will be denied that basic democratic right, because of the absurd system of mandatory coalition providing government places as of right, despite what the electorate thinks.
“Others parties in the Republic can freely choose their partners in government and reject Sinn Fein as unfit for government. Our system is designed to embed IRA/Sinn Fein at the top and heart of government. Again, underscoring the gross democratic deficit in Belfast Agreement devolution.
“So, the Republic’s election is another reminder of the second class and perverted form of democracy to which we are subjected in this part of the United Kingdom. Only a move to voluntary coalition – as elsewhere – and a fully fledged Opposition will remedy it.”