We’re coming into the home strait now with Sinn Fein’s John Feely still favourite to get that last seat.
With Rosemay Barton now over the line it seems the only hope for the SDLP is that a sizeable proportion of Barton’s transfer goes to McPhillips. On balance, it seems unlikely that he will get enough to close the gap on Feely.
The margin between Sinn Fein’s John Feely, who is on 5585 votes, and the SDLP’s Richie McPhillips, who is on 5205, has narrowed, with McPhillips gaining around 380 transfers from outgoing MLA Alastair Patterson, who was eliminated last night.
Rosemary Barton has just been confirmed elected with 7959, leaving a surplus of over 1,000. McPhillips will be expected to get something out of Barton transfers, but not enough to catch Feely. Barring a major upset it now seems certain that Sinn Fein’s John Feely will secure the last seat, possibly without reaching the quota. The irony is that if Feely does indeed exceed quota it will be on the back of tranfers fromMcPhillips, the very man he has been pitted against in the battle for the last seat.
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere