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Belfast Live
National
Brendan Hughes

Foyle Assembly election 2022 - Constituency a test for Sinn Féin, SDLP and DUP candidates

Foyle is a key test in the 2022 election for all three parties that hold Assembly seats in the constituency.

Both Sinn Féin and the SDLP have two seats apiece, while the DUP has one. For Sinn Féin it will be a test of whether recent internal problems for the party locally have impacted its vote.

The party was riding high in the last Assembly election in 2017, with Elisha McCallion topping the poll and subsequently defeating the SDLP's Mark Durkan in a snap Westminster poll to become Foyle MP.

Read more: Full coverage of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election

Nationalist anger over the DUP's handling of the RHI scandal and sympathy following the rapid illness and death of former Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness contributed to an increased vote for Sinn Féin.

However, in 2019's elections the party lost five seats on Derry City and Strabane District Council, losing its position as the single largest party on the local authority. And later that year Ms McCallion lost the Westminster seat to SDLP leader Colum Eastwood by more than 17,000 votes.

She was subsequently appointed to the Irish Senate but resigned in 2020 amid criticism over an initial failure to return money given out by a Stormont emergency Covid fund.

A party shake-up last year resulted in co-opted MLAs Martina Anderson and Karen Mullan being asked to step aside.

They were replaced by Pádraig Delargy and Ciara Ferguson - the second co-options for both seats within the same mandate.

Political observers will be watching the vote closely to assess whether this change in personnel has managed to put the party's local issues behind them.

For the SDLP, Foyle is a target constituency for the party to gain another seat.

MLAs Mark H Durkan and Sinead McLaughlin, who was co-opted when Mr Eastwood became an MP, are joined on the ticket by councillor and former mayor Brian Tierney.

The party will be banking on Mr Eastwood's huge 57% share of the vote in the snap Westminster election in 2019 translating into a boost in support in May.

If Sinn Féin and SDLP support holds up, that would leave DUP Junior Minister Gary Middleton vulnerable.

He was returned below the quota of votes to be reached for election in 2017, and this time he could face a significant challenge from UUP candidate Ryan McCready.

A former Royal Irish Regiment soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr McCready has been a high-profile recruit to the Ulster Unionists after leaving the DUP over its leadership turmoil.

While there is enough of a unionist vote in Foyle to reach the quota, a split could enable another candidate to swoop in.

People Before Profit's Eamonn McCann was in sixth place in 2017, losing his MLA seat as the number per constituency dropped from six to five.

The party is this time running councillor Shaun Harkin. While he is expected to still attract a sizeable vote, the absence of prominent activist Mr McCann from the ballot could constrain their performance.

Mr Middleton faces the problem of voters for smaller parties eliminated in earlier rounds of the election count being less likely to transfer to the DUP.

In particular the extent of the vote for Alliance councillor Rachael Ferguson, and where her votes transfer to, could be crucial in who captures the final seat.

Which election candidates are standing in the Foyle constituency?

  • Padraig Delargy (Sinn Féin)
  • Emmet Doyle (Aontú)
  • Mark H Durkan (SDLP)
  • Ciara Ferguson (Sinn Féin)
  • Rachael Ferguson (Alliance)
  • Gillian Hamilton (Green Party)
  • Shaun Harkin (People Before Profit)
  • Anne McCloskey (Independent)
  • Ryan McCready (UUP)
  • Colly McLaughlin (IRSP)
  • Sinéad McLauglin (SDLP)
  • Gary Middleton (DUP)
  • Elizabeth Neely (TUV)
  • Brian Tierney (SDLP)

Read more: Full coverage of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election

Read more: Martina Anderson's family launch stinging attack on Sinn Féin, accusing party of 'publicly humiliating' the Foyle MLA

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