London calls for elections in Northern Ireland after failure to form a new government

The United Kingdom called on Friday for a second election this year in Northern Ireland, after months of political deadlock over its post-Brexit status.

"I have a legal obligation to call an election," Britain's Northern Ireland minister Chris Heaton-Harris said of Belfast, adding that he would provide additional details "next week", about six months after the previous election.

The deadline for the resumption of power-sharing in Northern Ireland's regional government expired at midnight on Thursday.

The expiration of the statutory term for a joint government between pro-Ireland nationalists and pro-UK unionists came after the parties made a last-ditch attempt to restart Northern Ireland's Plenipotentiary Council.

In Thursday's controversial session, political parties met briefly for the first time in months but failed to elect a prime minister who would form a cabinet.

Northern Ireland has been without a functioning government since February when the pro-Crown Democratic Unionist Party ousted the executive for its staunch opposition to post-Brexit trade rules.

The party wants to amend or abolish the Northern Ireland protocol agreed to by London and Brussels as part of the Brexit deal concluded in 2019, arguing that it weakens the province's position within the United Kingdom.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news