Only on Friday are the election results expected to be presented in the politically turbulent and divided Northern Ireland.
A success for Sinn Féin could be of great significance.
- The question on everyone's lips is whether Northern Ireland takes a step towards a united Ireland.
The answer to that question is actually yes.
If there is a referendum on the issue soon?
No, says Sinn Féin themselves.
The party has not campaigned on this issue, only a third of the Northern Irish want a united Ireland now, says Anna-Maja Persson.
Concerns about the handlebars
An important issue is also that of Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol, the purpose of which is to prevent a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
- The unionists are on the warpath, they want to scrap the agreement and that made the prime minister from DUP (Democratic Unionist Party, a national conservative party, editor's note), quit the government cooperation earlier this year, says Anna-Maja Persson.
- Now there is a strong concern, a justified concern, that this boycott continues, that there will be no government after the election either.
This can lead to continued political chaos, perhaps new elections in the long run and, in the worst case, more violence.
"People are apathetic"
Despite Sinn Féin's success in the polls, the neutral Alliance Party seems to be increasing the most of all parties.
They are aimed at those who want to see an end to the political division.
Northern Ireland's autonomy is based on nationalists and unionists ruling together.
This is in accordance with the peace agreement from 1998. But the parties have on several occasions sat opposite each other in the Stormont parliament, which has created political deadlocks.
- We see an increase in the political center.
In the measurements, we increase all the way up to 14-16 percent.
People are tired of the split and want politicians to work for issues that are important to them, says Rachel Fergusson, parliamentary candidate for the Alliance Party, to SVT News.
- People are apathetic.
Stormont was blocked for three years, returned during the pandemic, and is now blocked again.
People think: What's the point?
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The conflict in Northern Ireland is estimated to have claimed almost 4,000 lives and is still ongoing.
Photo: TT