Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum, 1998

Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum, 1998
Do you support the agreement reached at the multi-party talks on Northern Ireland and set out in Command Paper 3883?
Location	Northern Ireland
Date	22 May 1998
Results Votes % Yes 676,966 7001711200000000000♠71.12% No 274,879 7001288800000000000♠28.88% Valid votes 951,845 7001998100000000000♠99.81% Invalid or blank votes 1,738 6999180000000000000♠0.18% Total votes 953,683 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 1,175,403 7001811400000000000♠81.14%

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National and regional referendums held within the United Kingdom and its constituent countries

Northern Ireland Border Poll	1973
UK EC Membership Referendum	1975
Scottish Devolution Referendum	1979
Welsh Devolution Referendum	1979
Scottish Devolution Referendum	1997
Welsh Devolution Referendum	1997
Greater London Authority Referendum	1998
NI Good Friday Agreement Referendum	1998
NE England Devolution Referendum	2004
Welsh Devolution Referendum	2011
UK AV Referendum	2011
Scottish Independence Referendum	2014
UK EU Membership Referendum	2016

The Good Friday Agreement referendum, 1998 was a referendum held in Northern Ireland over whether there was support for the Good Friday Agreement. The result was a majority (71.1%) in favour. A simultaneous referendum held in the Republic of Ireland produced an even larger majority (94.4%) in favour.

Party support

All the main UK political parties (Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat) supported the Yes campaign, though the local branch of the Conservatives supported the No campaign. Of the local Northern Ireland parties represented in the Northern Ireland Peace Forum, the Ulster Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Sinn Féin, Alliance, Progressive Unionist Party, Ulster Democratic Party, Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and local "Labour" groups supported the proposals.

The only two parties in the Forum to campaign against the Agreement were the Democratic Unionist Party and the UK Unionist Party, though many prominent individuals in the Ulster Unionists also did so. Some minor parties campaigned against it. Republican Sinn Féin, which at the time did not run candidates in Northern Ireland, still opposes the agreement.

In the Republic of Ireland, all parties represented in the Oireachtas were in favour – Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, Progressive Democrats, Democratic Left, Green Party, Sinn Féin and the Socialist Party.

Result

The referendum saw a large majority 'Yes' vote across the province. A total of 1,738 ballots were spoiled. Turnout, at 81.1% was very high for a developed country where voting is not compulsory.^[1] Turnout in the equivalent referendum in the Republic of Ireland was average for a constitutional referendum but returned almost universal approval (94.39%).

Turnout

The turnout in Northern Ireland was noticeably high at 81.1% and even more remarkably the turnout was quite high evenly throughout Northern Ireland, compared to many elections where turnout is highest in strong nationalist areas and significantly lower in unionist areas. It is estimated that approximately 147,000 people who do not normally vote in elections turned out to vote in the referendum, most of them in traditionally staunch unionist areas. In the Republic the turnout was lower, at 56.3%.^[1]

Legislative responses

The UK Parliament passed the Northern Ireland Act 1998, while in the Republic the Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1998 passed into law.

References

See also

• Referendums in the United Kingdom