1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election

1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election
← 1975 20 October 1982 1996 →

All 78 seats to the Northern Ireland Assembly
40 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader James Molyneaux Ian Paisley John Hume
Party UUP DUP SDLP
Leader since September 1979 September 1971 November 1979
Leader's seat South Antrim North Antrim Londonderry
Last election 19 seats, 25.4% 12 seats, 14.8% 17 seats, 23.7%
Seats won 26 21 14
Seat change Increase7 Increase9 Decrease3
Popular vote 188,277 145,528 118,891
Percentage 29.7% 23.0% 18.8%
Swing Increase3.9% Increase8.2% Decrease4.9%

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Oliver Napier Ruairí Ó Brádaigh James Kilfedder
Party Alliance Sinn Féin UPUP
Leader since 1972 October 1970 1980
Leader's seat Belfast East None North Down
Last election 8 seats, 9.8% Did not contest Not established
Seats won 10 5 1
Seat change Increase2 Increase5 Increase1
Popular vote 58,851 64,191 14,916
Percentage 9.3% 10.1% 2.3%
Swing Decrease0.5% n/a n/a


Percentage of seats gained by each of the party.

Chief Executive before election

None

Chief Executive after election

None

The 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly elections were held on 20 October 1982 in an attempt to re-establish devolution and power-sharing in Northern Ireland. Although the Northern Ireland Assembly officially lasted until 1986 (and was seen as being a continuation of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention of 1975) it met infrequently.