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The Northern Ireland Assembly (Minimum Period) (Amendment) Order 2026

S.I. 2026/1080 · Made 13 October 2026

Original text. legislation.gov.uk does not revise statutory instruments, so later amendments are not shown here. Changes made to it are listed under each provision when known.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Made at 11.08 a.m. on 13th October 2026

Laid before Parliament at 3.30 p.m. on 13th October 2026

Coming into force 3rd November 2026

The Secretary of State makes this Order in exercise of the power conferred by section 31 (6) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998f1.

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

1998 c. 47.

Contents

  1. 1Citation, commencement and extent
  2. 2Amendment of the Northern Ireland Assembly (Minimum Period) Order 2010
  3. Signature
  4. Explanatory note

1Citation, commencement and extent

(1)

This Order may be cited as the Northern Ireland Assembly (Minimum Period) (Amendment) Order 2026.

(2)

This Order comes into force on 3rd November 2026.

(3)

This Order extends to Northern Ireland only.

2Amendment of the Northern Ireland Assembly (Minimum Period) Order 2010

For article 2(1) of the Northern Ireland Assembly (Minimum Period) Order 2010f1 substitute—

“(1)

The minimum period for the purpose of section 31 (6) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (date of elections and dissolutions) is—

(a)

26 days; or

(b)

where paragraph (1A) applies, 30 days.

(1A)

This paragraph applies where—

(a)

the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Irelandf2, in accordance with section 15 (3A) of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (combination of polls at Northern Ireland Assembly elections with polls at parliamentary and local elections)f3, has directed that the polls at an election of the Northern Ireland Assembly are to be taken together with the polls at any other election or elections; and

(b)

that direction is given no later than 31 days before the date of the polls.”.

Signature

Sarah Owen

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Northern Ireland Office

at 11.08 a.m. on 13th October 2026

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

By virtue of section 31 (1) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47), ordinary general elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly are held on the first Thursday in May every five years. The predecessor Assembly must be dissolved at the start of the minimum period which ends with the date of the poll for the election and that period is determined in accordance with an Order made by the Secretary of State.

This Order makes provision for the determination of the minimum period which is to be 26 days or 30 days, computed in accordance with rule 2 of the Assembly Elections Rules (which makes provision for days that are to be disregarded). The minimum period will only be 30 days if the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland has directed that the polls at an election of the Northern Ireland Assembly are to be taken together with the polls at one or more other elections. The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland has this power under section 15(3A) of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (c. 50).

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.