SINN Féin has refused to nominate deputy first minister sparking a fresh election to the Assembly.
In the chamber today, Michelle O’Neill is the nominating officer for Sinn Féin, and she started by paying tribute to former deputy first minister Martin McGuinness who took his seat beside her despite his ailing health.
She said the Foyle MLA had taken “personal and political risks” for the sake of progress, she tells MLAs.
She hits out at the DUP, saying its actions have “diminished the credibility” of the political institutions.
“Martin McGuinness resigned as deputy first minister because that was the right thing to do,” she adds.
“There can be no return to the status quo,” she says, adding that her party will not renominate for the position of deputy first minister.
“It’s now over to the people to have their say,” she concludes.
The DUP has nominated party leader as First Minister.
But with no deputy first minister nomination from Sinn Fein, it now falls to Secretary of State James Brokenshire to announced by 5 pm this evening that he is calling an election.
