New Ireland Group

Peter Robinson’s statement on voting procedures in the Assembly is both thought provoking and contradictory. His criticism of the designations is positive; his statement – “dup Ministers would insist that all decisions will only be taken by consensus and we will not use our votes to override their opposition” – is most welcome; and his quotation – We will not find answers in old dogmas – is equally positive. But then he contradicts himself and suggests weighted majority voting. This ancient methodology – first advocated, by the way, in the 13th century for the election of the Pope – is similar to simple majority voting for it is also adversarial. It still reduces the question, no matter how complex, to a two-option, for-or-against vote, that or a series of such votes.

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