A Northern Ireland Assembly election has to be held to elect 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly if the parties fail to form an Executive, which they have yet to do so. After the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election on 5 May, the DUP declined to agree on the appointment of Speaker to the Assembly, preventing the formation of an Executive. Chris Heaton-Harris, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, confirmed a legal obligation to call an election if no Executive was formed by a 27 October 2022 deadline. No Executive was formed by this deadline, but Heaton-Harris delayed immediately calling an election and subsequently produced a new deadline of 8 December 2022, with the option for a further extension of 6 weeks beyond that. If no Executive is formed, an election will be req