European Election (NI) - Thursday 10 June 2004

European Election (NI)
Thursday 10 June 2004

Introduction

The elections on Thursday 10 June 2004 were held to elect three Members to the European Parliament (MEPs). For the purpose of the European elections Northern Ireland is treated as a single constituency and voting is by means of proportional representation (PR).

European elections in Northern Ireland produce results which have been markedly different from local government elections, general elections, or other ad hoc elections. Voters in the European elections have tended to vote for personalities. Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), topped the poll since the first European election in 1979 until his last European election in 1999. Both Ian Paisley (DUP) and John Hume (Social, Democratic and Labour Party; SDLP) had decided not to contest the 2004 election.

Seven candidates took part in the contest - their names and political parties are listed in the table below. The count of votes took place on Monday 14 June 2004 following the completion of voting in other European countries. The three candidates elected were: Jim Allister (DUP) and Bairbre De Brún (Sinn Féin; SF) who were elected at the first stage, and Jim Nicholson (Ulster Unionist Party; UUP) who was elected at the third stage. The details of transfers of votes and elimination of candidates is to be found in the tables below.

See also:
Election Manifestos
Electoral Office Northern Ireland. (2004) European election 2004: Votes polled by Westminster constituency, [PDF; 36KB]. Belfast: Electoral Office Northern Ireland.
Electoral Office Northern Ireland. (2004) European election 2004: Stage Results, [PDF; 76KB]. Belfast: Electoral Office Northern Ireland.

Summary of Results:

Eligible Electorate: 1,072,669
Number of Votes Cast (Turnout / Poll): 554,744
Percentage Turnout / Poll: 51.72%
Number of Invalid / Spoilt Votes: 5,467
Number of Valid Votes Cast: 549,277
Percentage Valid Votes Cast: 51.21%
Quota: 137,320

First Stage

Candidate and Party	First Preference Votes	% Valid Poll
Jim Allister         [elected at first stage] Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Manifesto [PDF; 2916KB]	175,761	32.00%
Bairbre De Brún         [elected at first stage] Sinn Fein (SF) Manifesto [PDF; 1783KB]	144,541	26.31%
Jim Nicholson         [elected at third stage] Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Manifesto [PDF; 473KB]	91,164	16.60%
Martin Morgan Social, Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) Manifesto Part 1 [PDF; 324KB]   Part 2 [PDF; 480KB]	87,559	15.94%
John Gilliland Independent (Ind) Manifesto [PDF; 233KB]	36,270	6.60%
Eamonn McCann Socialist Environmental Alliance (SEA) Manifesto [PDF; 501KB]	9,172	1.67%
Lindsay Whitcroft Green Party (Green) Manifesto [PDF; 219KB]	4,810	0.88%

Jim Allister (DUP) and Bairbre De Brún (SF) elected at the first stage.

 

Second Stage

John Gilliland, Eamonn McCann and Lindsay Whitcroft were eliminated at the second stage.

Third Stage

Jim Nicholson (UUP) elected at the third stage.