At the first meetings of the Assembly after the election, MLAs will sign the Roll of Members, elect a Speaker to chair meetings and appoint the Executive Committee to govern Northern Ireland.
The positions of First Minister and deputy First Minister will go to the largest parties in the 2 main communities in Northern Ireland, unionist and nationalist.
The position of Justice Minister is filled by a cross-community vote. After the Justice Minister has been elected, the rest of the Ministers are appointed using a mathematical formula, called 'd'Hondt', which ensures that these important positions are filled fairly, based on the number of seats that parties won in the election.
Watch this animation to find out how d'Hondt works, and how the Assembly and Executive work together to make laws and decisions which affect all of us in Northern Ireland.
The explanation of d'Hondt is based on the March 2017 election, when 4 political parties gained seats on the Executive, with a 5th party entering the Executive as a result of the cross-community vote for a Justice Minister.
| 2017 Assembly Election Results | |
|---|---|
| DUP | 28 MLAs |
| SF | 27 MLAs |
| SDLP | 12 MLAs |
| UUP | 10 MLAs |
| Alliance Party | 8 MLAs |
| Green Party | 2 MLA |
| TUV | 1 MLA |
| People before Profit | 1 MLAs |
| Independent | 1 MLAs |
