Sinn Féin wins the most seats in the Northern Ireland parliament for the first time: The debate on unification with Ireland is already mentioned

Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, which is in favor of unification with the Republic of Ireland, today hailed a "new era" for Northern Ireland as it won the most seats in parliament for the first time.

Sinn Fein won 27 of the 90 seats in parliament in Thursday's local elections, while the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has dominated the Northern Ireland legislature for two decades, won 24 seats.

The victory means Sinn Féin has the right to elect a first minister in Belfast for the first time since Northern Ireland was established as a majority Protestant state in 1921.

The centrist Alliance party, which does not identify itself as either nationalist or unionist, has seen a huge surge in support and will become the second big winner in the election with 17 seats.

While a Sinn Féin victory would mark a historic shift showing declining support for unionist parties, it is still uncertain what will happen next due to Northern Ireland's complicated power-sharing procedure and ongoing conflicts over post-Brexit arrangements.

Radio Free Europe reports that Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the paramilitary Irish Republican Army (IRA), is celebrating its first electoral victory in the history of Northern Ireland, a region within Great Britain.

Sinn Féin secured 29 per cent of the preferential vote compared to 21,3 per cent for the pro-British DUP, according to the official results of local elections held on Thursday 5 May.

The final results have not yet been announced, but analysts point out that Sinn Féin is out of reach as it won 23 seats out of 79 in the regional parliament and the DUP 22.

"Today is a defining moment for our politics and for our people," said regional party leader Michelle O'Neill.

"Now there should be an "honest debate" about the goal of our party - the unification of the territory with the Republic of Ireland," she said.

The victory of Sinn Fein will not change the status of the region, because in order to leave Great Britain, a referendum is required, which is decided by the British government, and it will take years, according to Radio Free Europe.

The election results are a confirmation of the demographic trends that have long shown that the victory over the pro-British Protestant parties will be won by the Catholic Irish nationalist parties that advocate the united Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.