Michelle Gildernew, Sinn Fein
LOCAL SINN FEIN MLA Sean Lynch has conceded that if – as expected – Michelle Gildernew is to be added to the list of candidates in May’s Assembly elections – one of the party’s four candiddates is likely to lose out.
Tonight, Friday, February 19 it is expected that former MP Michelle Gildernew will be added to the Sinn Fein ticket after surprisingly failing to be chosen her party colleagues at a meeting in Enniskillen. But sitting MLA and election candidate Sean Lynch accepts “four candidates aren’t getting elected.”
Ms Gildernew lost out in a selection convention vote last month to Mr Lynch and current MLA Phil Flanagan along with local councillor John Feely, but in an earlier selection vote was chosen as one of three candidates to go forward at the expense of Mr Flanagan.
It is understood the party’s ard chomhairle (leadership) asked for an additional convention to be held in South Tyrone after the three male candidates, all from Fermanagh, were selected ahead of Ms Gildernew, who served as MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone for 14 years.
The third convention, due to take place on Friday is not a re-run of previous selection meetings, with members only asked to choose a fourth candidate in the constituency for May’s Assembly elections.
Speaking to the Herald this week Mr Lynch confirmed that the selection convention in South Tyrone would go ahead on February 19, but stated it was only a vote for members in that area and not for Fermanagh members.
Should, as expected, Michelle Gildernew be selected as the fourth candidate for Sinn Fein in Fermanagh South Tyrone it is unlikely all four will be returned as MLAs, given that only three were elected in 2011. Mr Lynch agreed that “four candidates aren’t getting elected.”
“We would be very confident (ahead of the elections). We received 23,000 votes in the Westminster election, although we didn’t win it. That is well over three quotas. We would be very confident. The only thing is four candidates aren’t getting elected. In that scenario one of the Sinn Fein candidates wouldn’t get selected, because really there are only three quotas and there are only three nationalist seats, because it is split down the middle.”
Mr Lynch stated that the priority for the party was to maintain three seats and get as strong a vote as possible. “After that it is luck of the draw,” he added.
SDLP election candidate and Lisnaskea councillor Richie McPhilips would not be drawn on the likelihood that his own election chances would increase should Sinn Fein run four candidates. He admitted however that his party has a “battle on our hands” to take a seat.
“We have got to re-engage with the many, many people around Fermanagh and South Tyrone who voted SDLP in the past. The SDLP message today is equally important, if not more important as it was years ago. A lot of people have become disenchanted with the whole political situation that we have here in the North, but the fact is those people felt the message of Hume, Mallon and co then was worthwhile to follow so we’re looking to re-engage with those people, because we feel there’s a lot of people out there who still require their representation and proper representation.”
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