Unionists prepare legal challenge over Sinn Fein victory
Ulster Unionists were today vowing to mount a legal challenge to Sinn Fein’s sensational Westminster victory in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.
Defeated Ulster Unionist candidate James Cooper claimed there had been after-hours voting in the constituency and refused to accept Michelle Gildernew’s knife-edge win which gave the republican movement a spectacular victory which effectively partitioned Northern Ireland.
He said: ‘‘I do not accept the outcome of this election. There is clear and irrefutable evidence of electoral malpractice - the result of which may well be that my party will be considering the legal implications.’’
Mr Cooper’s bitterness was fuelled by Ms Gildernew’s paper-thin victory - her 17,739 votes were just 53 more than the total polled by the Enniskillen solicitor.
Arm-in-arm with Martin McGuinness and Pat Doherty - who had earlier secured the Mid Ulster and West Tyrone seats - she declared: ‘‘Sinn Fein is unstoppable.’’
Along with an amazing electoral tidal wave in the west of the province party president Gerry Adams secured a 20,000 majority in West Belfast - the highest in Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies.
Ms Gildernew recalled that two decades ago Fermanagh and South Tyrone had stunned the world by electing IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.
‘‘Twenty years ago the people of Fermanagh and South Tyrone stood by the prisoners at their most challenging time,’’ she said.
‘‘Today they have stood by Sinn Fein and today they embraced the peace process.
‘‘We are a republican party, all we seek is a united Ireland. Our day has come.’’
