The countdown to the first election for seats on the new Fermanagh and Omagh District Council on May 22 has begun with the first candidates nominating at Enniskillen Townhall this week.

The election is being held to select 40 councillors who will serve the seven District Electoral Areas in Fermanagh and West and Mid Tyrone. The new Fermanagh and Omagh District Council which is one of the 11 new super councils, will work in shadow form until next April when the current 26 councils will end.

On Tuesday of this week, candidates began delivering their nomination papers to the Deputy Returning Officer, Joan McCaffrey at Omagh District Council offices at The Grange, Mountjoy Road, Omagh and to the Assistant Deputy Returning Officer, Jim McGuinness at Fermanagh Council at Enniskillen Townhall. Papers can be lodged by prospective candidates until Tuesday, April 29.

There are several other important dates with Thursday, May 1 for the receipt of postal and proxy vote applications at Area Electoral Offices and May 6 for the receipt of late registration applications with May 12 being for the receipt of additional information for late registration applications.

Polling day on Thursday, May 22 will have polling stations open from 7am until 10pm. Counting will begin on Friday, May 23 continuing into the following day, Saturday, May 24. Polling cards have begun arriving at homes this week.

This week, the first of the candidates lodged their nomination papers. Among them were the SDLP candidates, Paul Blake, Erne North; Richie McPhillips, Erne East; Patricia Rogers, Enniskillen and John Coyle, Erne North, who will all be hoping get elected to the new Council. Patricia Rogers is a former member of Fermanagh District Council and wants to return to local council politics while John Coyle, is making his second bid to become elected, in the Erne North constituency vacated by retiring councillor, John O’Kane. New faces to the SDLP team are Paul Blake from Enniskillen who also runs in Erne North and Richie McPhillips, Erne East.

Also formally nominating this week were members of the Ulster Unionist Party team. New faces to their prospective Council team are Howard Thornton from Enniskillen and Victor Warrington from Fivemiletown. They will join outgoing members of the Fermanagh District Council team.

The Fermanagh branch of Traditional Unionist Voice also announced their candidates who will contest two of the District Electoral Areas for the Fermanagh and Omagh Council. Donald Crawford, a beef farmer, from Lisbellaw will contest the Enniskillen District Electoral Area while his fellow member, Alex Elliott, a former police officer, will bid to take a seat in Erne North. Issues raised at recent Party meetings include the Collegiate and Portora Schools proposed merger and services at the South West Acute Hospital.

In addition to the Local Government Elections, May 22 will also see polling for the European Parliament. The number of candidates for that has been announced yet.

Independent, Pat Cox, a former Sinn Fein councillor in Fermanagh, from Largy, has indicated he is willing to make a return to local politics and is expected to hand in his nomination papers over the next two weeks.