Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams speaks to Ryan Smith before the meeting in Enniskillen on Monday night
SINN FEIN president Gerry Adams has admitted that the race for a seat in the Westminster election in Fermanagh South Tyrone is a ‘challenge’.
He also described the election in this area, from the point of view of unionists as ‘one of the big battles’.
The Louth TD was speaking prior to Monday’s Sinn Fein ‘community engagement’ meeting in Enniskillen.
The party has chosen current MP Michelle Gildernew to contest next year’s election, a seat that she won back in 2010 by just four votes.
“That was the election in which the unionists put forth a unity candidate and that made it a big challenge,” Mr Adams said, “and there’s talk about them doing the same thing this time round so I would very actively encourage people who want to see the peace process continuing, who want to see a dispensation where there can be respect and tolerance, who may want to see a united Ireland or see equality, to come out and vote.”
Mr Adams described the MP as an ‘an outstanding public representative’, and admitted he wasn’t surprised that there has been talk of a pact between unionists here for the upcoming election.
“No not at all. I suppose from the point of view of unionists, this would be one of the big battles and I’ve just noticed how unionism has come together in recent times around very negative issues.”
He added that it’s ‘up to the unionists to play their own game’.
On the prospect of a joint nationalist candidate here, Mr Adams spelled out the thinking behind Sinn Fein’s recent offer to the SDLP to field agreed candidates here and in other constituencies.
“What we were trying to do was bring together pro-agreement elements, because there’s clearly an anti-agreement axis that has emerged,” he said.
However, SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell rejected Martin McGuinness’ calls for a single ‘pro-agreement’ candidate, saying his party would be sharing a platform with Sinn Fein based on ‘sectarian selfish interests’.
Mr Adams responded: “That’s a matter for him. You might recall last time round that Alex Maskey (Sinn Fein) stood down, stood aside in South Belfast in order to enhance Alasdair McDonnell’s possibility of being elected and I think that worked.
“But Alasdair will set out his own position and the SDLP’s position – I think people who would describe themselves as nationalist would see the imperative of getting pro-agreement candidates elected.”
He also said that he did not foresee a situation where, if re-elected, Michelle Gildernew would sit in the House of Commons.
“No I don’t think that’s ever going to happen. The political centre of gravity is on the island of Ireland very firmly, it’s in the assembly up in Belfast, it’s in the Dail in Dublin.
“There’s no merit at all, particularly when other people in the so-called United kingdom are trying to leave it, there’s no merit at all in anybody from a republican background – we’re not elected to do that anyway – we’re elected to use our mandate for the benefit of our constituency and to fulfil our mandate, not to go and sit in a British parliament.”
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