“MINDLESS thugs” have been accused of causing “sinister damage” by tearing down and defacing election posters around the county.
Enniskillen SDLP Councillor Paul Blake pointed out that some of his posters in town had been sliced in what looked to be a “pre-planned” attack.
“They probably used a sharp object. That one of mine that is deliberately sliced appears to have been done with a Stanley knife or something like that.
“All that was left was the name and the logo part of it,” he explained.
Cllr Blake described the attacks as ‘sinister’ and urged all parties to clearly distance themselves from the incidents. “Hopefully all parties will come out and condemn this because it is mindless thugs who are going about doing this.
“I’m not a great fan of posters and I would prefer that they are done away with altogether, but when people try to tamper with them and take away an opportunity for people to see them. It doesn’t make for a very fair election,” he said.
In the Enniskillen and Coa areas a number of SDLP posters have been destroyed, while in the Tempo area SDLP and Sinn Fein posters were defaced with red spray paint. In Enniskillen a poster for Donal O’Cofaigh appears to be largely covered by a poster for Sinn Fein Councillor, Debbie Coyle.
Commenting, Cllr Coyle said she was not aware of the incident.
“I certainly wouldn’t be covering anyone else’s poster . That poster will be removed or put back up the pole,” she said.
She added: “A lot of my posters have been damaged. They’ve been pulled down, cut and some have just disappeared altogether.
“I just hope whoever takes them down disposes of them in an environmentally friendly way.
We do go around every couple of nights and check them all and if there is a loose one we will tighten it. If you pull at them they will come down the pole a bit.”
Reacting to news of damage to posters, independent candidate Donal O’Cofaigh said it was important that the democratic process was respected.
“It is important that all parties respect each others posters. I don’t think it is productive for any party to damage another party’s posters.
“We should respect the democratic process.”
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