Like all of the DEAs in the Fermanagh and Omagh district, Erne West could not escape the so-called "Sinn Féin tsunami".

Three councillors were returned for Northern Ireland's largest party, with two new faces in the local Council Chamber.

There had been rumblings that all was not well within Sinn Féin in the west of the county in the lead up to the elections, and that there was a risk of the party losing votes following some internal strife.

One Sinn Féin member at the count admitted that the result they achieved seemed distant a few months ago, but with an election machine like no other, the party put that to bed as re-elected Anthony Feely and newly-elected Elaine Brough and Declan McArdle were all elected by the second count.

It was not until Stage Five that the SDLP's Adam Gannon and the UUP's Mark Ovens were deemed elected.

The strength of the Sinn Féin vote could be seen in the number of First Preference Votes (FPVs) they harvested in the area.

Between the three candidates, Councillor Feely (1,493), Elaine Brough (1,362) and Declan McArdle (1,256) they took in 54.2 per cent of FPVs in Erne West – up from 43.64 per cent in 2019.


READ ABOUT THE OUTCOME OF THE ENNISKILLEN DEA HERE


Councillor Feely summed up the feeling in the camp, saying: "Over the moon! We have retained our seats for the first time since 2005 – three seats in Erne West. I am not just happy for myself but I'm happy for my two running mates."

Councillor Brough said the nerves had finally settled and the hard work paid off for her and her Sinn Féin candidates, while Councillor McArdle said was now time to put the "shoulder to the wheel".

While it was a tough couple of days for the SDLP, in the West, returning Councillor Adam Gannon increased the party's FPV count from 611 in 2019 to 835, totalling 11 per cent of the vote share, compared to 8.27 per cent in 2019.

Impartial Reporter: Re-elected SDLP Councillor, Adam Gannon, discusses the count with DUP candidate, Aaron Elliott and former Independent Councillor, Bernice Swift.Re-elected SDLP Councillor, Adam Gannon, discusses the count with DUP candidate, Aaron Elliott and former Independent Councillor, Bernice Swift.

Councillor Gannon acknowledged it was a good day in Erne West, but across the board the SDLP vote had fallen, which led to a loss of seats.

"We have faced a very difficult context in this election. All the seven candidates we put up were all in the fight for seats, unfortunately our vote has dipped. It has proved the point – this is not a 'local issues' election, it's a 'bigger picture' election."


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He added that the job of the smaller parties and one Independent in the new-look Sinn Féin majority Council is to "provide scrutiny and constructive opposition and criticism and work across the Chamber, where possible, to hold the majority party to account".

The final councillor to be elected in Erne West was Ulster Unionist's Mark Ovens. Replacing Alex Baird on the ticket, the party vote remained pretty steady at 1,197 FPVs, down from 1,333 in 2019.

Reacting to being elected, Councillor Ovens said: "Really happy we polled really strongly in Erne West, and delighted that we got 1,197 FPVs."

Across the unelected candidates, the DUP's Aaron Elliott received 687 FPVs – an increase of 136 from 2019.


READ MORE ABOUT THE OUTCOME OF ERNE EAST DEA HERE


Independent candidate Paul McGoldrick, who ran in place of outgoing Councillor Bernice Swift, failed to attract her votes, securing 506 FPVs; Mrs. Swift polled 1,159 in 2019. The Alliance's Gerard McCusker polled 250 FPVs.