Ulster Elections -23-05-97Sinn Féin has scored a further major political breakthrough in the North Irish local government elections. The number of seats held by the Party has risen as has its share of the vote. The Unionists have lost control of Belfast City Council and Sinn Féin is now the largest party on the Council. It seems likely the Unionists will attempt to form an alliance with other groups to keep Sinn Féin councillors out of key posts.Although Sinn Féin's success has been mainly at the expense of the more moderate SDLP, the Unionist community are undoubtedly shaken by the Nationalist breakthrough and there have been allegations of electoral malpractice against Sinn Féin. Gerry Adams has dismissed the complaints as "whining" by Sinn Féin's opponents and the N. Ireland Chief Electoral Officer, who supervised the ballot, says that whilst there has been vote tampering, the complaint applys to all parties and not just Sinn Féin.  Back to Celtic League News |