Register to vote

Up to 200,000 voters are missing from this year’s electoral register in the North, it has been confirmed.

Voters are being urged to ensure their name appears on the register by March 10th.

Anyone not registered by that date will not be eligible to vote in this year’s local government election on May 5th, which is understood to also be the date set aside for the British Westminster elections.

“At a time when we have a political onslaught from our political enemies that is attempting to marginalise Sinn Féin and criminalise out electorate it is important that republicans and nationalists are registered,” said Sinn Féin’s Director of Elections in the Six Counties, Sean Begley,

“This is a very important election, it is about defending the peace process and recognising that Sinn Féin is the only party fully behind it at present.”

And as the Electoral Commission this week launched a campaign to get the missing voters back on the register, Sean Begley said it was “a bit rich” when the whole purpose of recent legislation was to make it hard for people to vote,” he said. “It was especially targeted at Sinn Féin voters in an attempt to stem the electoral rise of our party.”

* An election campaign flier by the Ulster Unionist Party implies Catholics are less industrious than Protestants; denies that nationalists are the victims of employment discrimination; and claims that the PSNI will become ‘unfair’ with a 50/50 religious quota

The leaflet, entitled ‘It’s Not Fair’, features a list of areas in which the UUP claim that unionists are losing out to nationalists.

Representatives across the political spectrum united this week to condemn the leaflet, which many see as an attempt to win over DUP voters by demonstrating greater levels of sectarian hatred.

* Residents of Meath and Kildare North have until Tuesday next to ensure their names are on the electoral registers if they wish to vote in the by-elections for the Dublin parliament next month.

The closing date for the Supplementary Register is Tuesday 22nd February and to get on it you must fill out a special form “RFA2” which can be obtained from Council Offices, Libraries or Post Offices. This must be filled out, signed at a Garda station and returned to Meath County Council, County Hall, Railway Street, Navan, Co. Meath.

Fine Gael leader and Labour are thought likely to finalise a voting pact for the by-elections in the coming days.

Urgent Appeal