Thousands of voters wiped off NI electoral register
Over 80,000 people wiped off Northern Ireland's annual electoral register were today urged to demand their votes back in time for the next Assembly election.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, whose West Belfast constituency saw the biggest drop of all the North's constituencies, described the dramatic fall in eligible voters on last Friday's list as a damning indictment of the registration process in the North.
And he also called on the British government to sanction the use of the previous voter register instead for next March's planned Assembly Election.
"Tens of thousands of voters have been ripped off the register by the actions of the registration office,'' the West Belfast MP complained.
"I intend to urgently speak to the British government and demand that the previous register should be rolled over to allow for its use in any Assembly election in March.
"Citizens should also have the ability to register to vote up to 11 days before polling day.''
There was a seven per cent drop in eligible voters across Northern Ireland, as all 18 constituencies experienced falls in the number of eligible voters.
The biggest decreases were in urban areas, with the four Belfast constituencies and Foyle, which mostly comprises of Derry, suffering.
Mr Adams' West Belfast constituency lost 8,345 registered voters - a 15.1% fall.
Democratic Unionist MP Nigel Dodd and nationalist SDLP MP Dr Alasdair McDonnell's seats in North Belfast and South Belfast seat both experienced a 10.2% decrease.
North Belfast lost 5,373 voters and South Belfast 5,333.
