DUBLIN, Ireland — Sinn Fein looks set to become the largest party in Northern Ireland’s assembly, potentially marking a historic shift in the region’s political balance, according to a final poll ahead of next week’s election.
The nationalist party, whose ultimate goal is a united Ireland, drew 26% support in a LucidTalk poll for the Belfast Telegraph ahead of a May 5 election. That’s 6 points ahead of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, which gained 1 point from a March poll to 20%. Sinn Fein’s popularity was unchanged.
Such an outcome could result in Sinn Fein choosing Northern Ireland’s First Minister for the first time since the power-sharing government was established following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement — a seismic shift in a region historically dominated by unionist parties. It could also have wider ramifications for the U.K.’s negotiations with the European Union.
