NI Assembly: Chris Heaton-Harris to extend election deadline again

The deadline to hold an assembly election if there is no executive formed looks set to be further extended by the Northern Ireland secretary, BBC News NI understands.

Chris Heaton-Harris is under a legal obligation to hold a poll by mid-April.

However it is believed he is planning to bring forward legislation to push back the timeline.

He is also under pressure to amend the legislation to ensure the stalled opt-out organ donation law is introduced.

It is understood the bill - the Executive Formation Bill - could be tabled in the House of Commons as early as 22 February.

When asked to confirm the date for the legislation, the Northern Ireland Office said the Northern Ireland secretary would provide "an update on the next steps in the near future".

Mr Heaton-Harris has been under a legal duty to call a fresh assembly election since mid-January after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) failed to end its boycott of the Northern Ireland Executive.

The party withdrew its first minister Paul Givan from the executive in February 2021 and has not returned.

Under the timeline laid out in law, the last date an assembly election could be held was 13 April which meant the Northern Ireland secretary had to call the poll before 6 March to allow for the six-week election campaign.

Nobody was expecting Northern Ireland to be going to the polls on 13 April - three days after the Good Friday Agreement 25th anniversary.

The prospect of the political architects of that deal gathering for a celebration during what would have been a divisive election campaign was one to be avoided.

Now Chris Heaton-Harris has a call to make.

Will he set a new 12-week timeline which could see an assembly election in mid July in the middle of the marching season?

Or will he simply take the power to change the timeline without putting dates in place?

The Northern Ireland Office refused to confirm or deny the plans for new legislation.

A spokesperson said: "On 20 January, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland fell under a legal duty to propose a date for further elections to the NI Assembly.

"He has since engaged widely across Northern Ireland and will provide an update on next steps in the near future."

When the new legislation is published it may also include an amendment to clear the way for the introduction of the new opt-out organ donation law - popularly known as Dáithí's Law.

It is believed the Northern Ireland secretary is coming under pressure from Northern Ireland MPs at Westminster to push the law through.

It was approved by assembly members in February 2022 and was due to take effect this spring, but has been held up due to the stalemate at Stormont.

The law is to be named after Dáithí MacGabhann, a six-year-old who is waiting for a heart transplant.

His parents met Mr Heaton-Harris recently to ask for the new law to be brought through Westminister.

They also met DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who told them the quickest way to implement Daithi's Law was through the House of Commons.

But Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O'Neill said the easiest way to introduce the new organ donation system was through the executive and called for the DUP to return to Stormont.