A Sinn Fein mob intimidated staff at a polling
station in Garrison into allowing votes to be
cast illegally resulting in their candidate,
Michelle Gildernew, becoming MP for
Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the
General Election on June 7, it is alleged.
The claim is made by the Ulster Unionist
candidate, James Cooper. He wants Miss
Gildernew disqualified, and himself duly
elected MP for the area.
A lawyer acting for Mr. Cooper lodged an Election Petition with the High Court
in Belfast at the end of last week and a copy appears on the Public Notices
page of this newspaper today.
Mr. Cooper said: “There is absolutely no doubt that the polling station in
Garrison remained open for voting until some time near 11pm on the evening
of the election and the Presiding Officer was intimidated by a mob of voters to
allow votes to be cast after the 10pm deadline.”
“I am disappointed and dismayed that the Chief Electoral Officer of Northern
Ireland has been unable to disclose to me the facts surrounding the events in
the polling station on the night.
“I consider he has an obligation in his duty to the Northern Ireland electorate
to ensure that the election was carried out in accordance with the rules laid
down by Government and any breach of these rules should be fully and
properly investigated,” added Mr. Cooper.
“I am determined, in the public interest, to find out the truth of what happened
at Garrison, and if the facts when disclosed establish that Michelle
Gildernew’s election was on the basis of votes cast illegally I shall demand
that the result shall be overturned by the Courts,” Mr. Cooper stated.
The Electoral Petition sets out the basis for Mr. Cooper’s case. It states that a
polling station at St. Martin’s Primary School in Garrison either remained
open after 10pm, when it should have been closed, or that it was
subsequently re-opened.
“Such failure to close or the re-opening resulted from the actions and threats
of members of the party to which the Respondent, Michelle Gildernew,
belonged, namely Sinn Fein,” the Petition states.
It accuses the Presiding Officer of allowing ballot papers to be issued and
votes cast after 10pm, making them invalid. It is Mr. Cooper’s contention that if
those illegal votes had been disallowed he would have topped the poll and
been elected MP for the area. Mr. Cooper is asking the High Court to order an
examination of the votes recorded as having been cast after 10pm and have
them declared invalid. He wants it to rule that Miss Gildernew was not duly
elected and that he ought to have been returned as the MP, or that the
election be declared void.
Copies of the Electoral Petition have been served on Miss Gildernew, the
Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland, the Area Electoral Officer for
Fermanagh and South Tyrone and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
