Senators
The Senate consisted of 26 members. Twenty-four members elected by the House of Commons of Northern Ireland elected using the Single Transferable Vote (STV), elected in blocks of twelve with each senator's term lasting for two parliaments (i.e. two House of Commons) and two ex-officio members: the Lord Mayor of Belfast and Mayor of Londonderry. Convention held that, in the event of a by-election, only members of the Commons from the same county would vote on their replacement. The election system was maintained even after the abolition of STV for the House of Commons.
The Senators to retire after the end of the first parliament were selected by lot. At the subsequent election, voting papers from the Nationalist MPs and George Henderson were deemed to have been submitted late, and were not considered. All these members had given a high preference to the Nationalist candidate, Vincent Devoto, and a subsequent analysis of the transfers showed that these would otherwise have been sufficient to elect him.
Read more about this topic: Senate Of Northern Ireland
Famous quotes containing the word senators:
“Michael Corleone: My father is no different than any powerful man. Any man who’s responsible for other people. Like a senator or a president.
Kaye: Do you know how naive you sound?
Michael Corleone: Why?
Kaye: Senators and presidents don’t have men killed.”
—Mario Puzo (b. 1920)
“When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter,
And when he cried the little children died in the streets.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“Gold? Yellow, glittering, precious gold?
...
This yellow slave
Will knit and break religions, bless th’ accursed,
Make the hoar leprosy adored, place thieves,
And give them title, knee and approbation
With senators on the bench.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)