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The Sinn Fein party in Northern Ireland on Friday won the top spot in the elections in the British-controlled territory, Reutersreports.
According to the report, Sinn Fein secured 29% of the first-preference vote compared with 21.3% by the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), indicating it was likely to become the first Irish nationalist party to win the most seats in an election to the regional assembly since the state’s creation in 1921.
A victory by Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the IRA, victory would not change the region’s status, as the referendum required to leave the United Kingdom is at the discretion of the British government and likely years away.
However, the psychological implications of an Irish nationalist first minister would be huge after a century of domination by pro-British parties, supported predominantly by the region’s Protestant population.
Once shunned by the political establishment on both sides of the border for its links to paramilitary violence, Sinn Fein is now the most popular party in the Republic of Ireland.
Final results are not expected until Saturday.
Sinn Fein is also known for its hostile views of Israel. In 2009, the then-leader of Sinn Fein, met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza.
At the time, Adams was quoted as terming Gaza “an open-air prison,” and telling Haniyeh, “We want to help. We support the Palestinian people.”
In 2014, Irish lawmakers voted in favor of a symbolic motion, introduced by Sinn Fein, urging their government to recognize “Palestine” as a state.
In 2018, several Sinn Fein lawmakers expressed support for boycotting Israel following its winning the Eurovision song contest.