IN the face of criticism from many potential participants, the British Prime Minister, Mr John Major, yesterday set a date of May 30th for elections in Northern Ireland in a new attempt to move the peace process forward.
His plans for an election based on a complex party list system were met with a barrage of abuse at Westminster, but there were no immediate signs of a boycott.
Mr Major told the House of Commons "The IRA used the lack of a fixed date for all party negotiations as an excuse to break their ceasefire. There was never any justification for their actions. Now their excuses are running out. What I have set out today represents a clear and direct route to all party negotiations ... but let me make clear yet again that, while we want to see all parties round the table, the process will go on with or without Sinn Fein." Without suggesting that the SDLP might boycott the election, the party's deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, denounced Mr Major's scheme as "a monster raving loony proposal" and "a sop to the unionist parties". The president of Sinn Fein, Mr Gerry Adams, described a new assembly as "anathema to nationalists", but gave no indication on whether Sinn Fein would contest the election on May 30th.
The Irish Government is adopting a neutral stance, attempting to present the British proposals for an election in Northern Ireland as the gateway to all party negotiations rather than as an end in themselves.
Both the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste hope to convince the nationalist parties, in particular, that Mr Major's electoral model should be seen as the procedural step necessary for entry into talks on a comprehensive settlement on June 10th.
By cautiously deciding not to endorse or reject the British proposals, Government sources hope that the Northern parties will focus on the election on May 30th as the mandate for all party talks. They are placing less emphasis on the 110 member forum which will operate in parallel with the negotiations, but without power to intervene in them.
The Tanaiste, Mr Spring, who handled the consultations with the British government, expressed the hope last night that the Northern parties would study the proposed election legislation in the context of the overall package the ground rules and the transition documents and see if they can support it and make progress on it.
The most important aspect was the negotiating body, he said, adding that the planned forum would have no legislative or administrative functions.
Mr Spring emphasised that the Government's original position was a preference for all party talks without an election. "But the British government had a view that the election process was necessary. There wasn't any option that was supported by number of parties, so they have put forward this compromise"
It is understood that the Government did not propose any particular model of its own during the Anglo Irish consultations on the election process. It did inform the British, however, of the deep dissatisfaction within the nationalist community at the proposal for an election and of the suspicion among nationalists about the role a forum or assembly could play in the process.
During the final consultations, last Wednesday night Mr Spring is believed to have placed most emphasis on ensuring that the elections would be the guaranteed, direct and only route into all party negotiations on June 10th.
As reported in yesterday's Irish Times, Mr Major's chosen electoral system provides for constituency based elections, comprising a party list system rather than individual candidates, with a supplementary Northern Ireland wide party vote and a "topping up" element to try to ensure representation for the smaller parties [see panel]. The parties will select equal sized negotiating teams from the 110 strong pool of elected representatives.
Mr Major was emphatic that the transition from the elections to the negotiations would be "automatic and immediate".
The reinstatement of the IRA ceasefire is not a precondition for participation by Sinn Fein in the election, but a ceasefire and a "total and absolute commitment" to the Mitchell report's six principles on democracy and non violence remain the party's price of entry to the negotiations.
Mr Major said that the parties would also have to address, at the beginning of the negotiations, "Senator Mitchell's proposals on decommissioning". In answer to a question from Mr Robert McCartney, the Independent Unionist MP, Mr Major said that this meant there would have to be parallel decommissioning" during the negotiating process.
Sinn Fein's initial dismissive reaction to the proposals indicates that there is little likelihood at present of its leadership calling on the IRA to reinstate the ceasefire.
The Northern Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, last night said that the British government wanted to see Sinn Fein involved in the elections and the subsequent negotiations, but the IRA ceasefire would have to be restored first.