The leader of Northern Ireland's largest pro-British party faced a major revolt on Thursday, just weeks after taking charge, as the unionist community struggles to find a strong figure to lead opposition to trade rules set under Britain's EU divorce deal.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Edwin Poots was opposed by 24 of his party's 28 regional lawmakers on the nomination of a new first minister for the British province. They had been angered by a move from the government in London to speed the introduction of Irish language rights in an effort to convince Irish nationalists Sinn Fein to back the nomination.
Asked whether Poots is likely to face a vote of confidence, party chairman Maurice Morrow said "wait and see", the BBC reported.
Poots' setback adds to political instability in Northern Ireland which is the focus of a trade spat between Britain and the European Union and has seen street violence fuelled by anger about restrictions on trade with the rest of the United Kingdom.
Objections by unionists and members of his Conservative Party to the trade restrictions have put pressure on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to try to get the EU to tear up the rules, a demand the bloc's leaders have repeatedly rejected.
Poots on Thursday appointed party ally Paul Givan to replace former DUP leader Arlene Foster as Northern Ireland's first minister, overriding objections from DUP lawmakers to the language rights condition rival Sinn Fein had demanded.
The lawmakers had wanted Poots to pause the nomination process due to a British government promise to introduce legislation giving additional rights to Irish language speakers if the local assembly fails to do so before October.
The DUP lawmakers voted against Poots going ahead with the nomination just minutes before he entered the assembly chamber and put Givan's name forward, senior DUP lawmaker Sammy Wilson told BBC Northern Ireland.
"The feelings in the party were very, very clear. It wasn't a marginal vote .... There shouldn't have been a nomination," Wilson said.
"Anyone who cannot bring their party along with them will find that they are not able to carry on anyhow," Wilson said when asked if Poots should stand down as leader.
Givan, 39, was confirmed as leader of Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive -- put in place by the 1998 peace deal that ended 30 years of sectarian violence -- with Sinn Fein's consent.
Poots, who ousted and replaced Foster with a promise to listen to members and unite the party, has had a turbulent month in charge.
A divisive leadership election led to the resignations of some local DUP councillors while two regional ministers he dropped criticised the new appointments as failing to heal the rifts.
Sinn Fein and the DUP had agreed to bring in the Irish language laws as part of a political agreement brokered by London and Dublin. But many DUP members oppose introducing legislation on the language in the coming months.
(Writing by Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries; Editing by Catherine Evans)
