A councillor suspended by a standards watchdog over comments about a Sinn Féin MP has been reselected by the DUP to contest May's council election.
Marc Collins last year was suspended for eight months from his council role over posts on Twitter about John Finucane in 2019 when he was a Westminster election candidate.
The Mid and East Antrim councillor is also facing another standards watchdog probe over remarks on Facebook about asylum seekers in Carrickfergus.
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The back-to-back investigations had fuelled speculation over whether Mr Collins would be on the DUP ticket for the local government election.
But the DUP's East Antrim branch confirmed he has been reselected as a candidate for the Knockagh area alongside former mayor Peter Johnston.
It said on Facebook: "We are pleased to announce that Councillor Marc Collins has been selected for the Knockagh district electoral area."
Mr Collins, who works for DUP MLA David Hilditch, had remained tight-lipped on whether he would stand for election again when asked in November.
An anonymous source had claimed he was invited for an interview as part of the DUP's candidate approval process but he did not attend.
A DUP spokesman at the time said it "does not comment on internal party processes".
In June, Mr Collins was suspended by a council standards watchdog over posting a message in 2019 alleging that Mr Finucane "supports and promotes the IRA".
He also retweeted a message promoting a controversial banner erected in West Belfast's Shankill area which referred to several members of Mr Finucane's family.
In submissions to the watchdog, Mr Collins argued that sharing a post on Twitter via a retweet was not necessarily an endorsement of its contents.
Mr Collins also said that Mr Finucane had addressed a republican Easter commemoration in North Belfast's Ardoyne area in 2018 - a commemoration which the councillor said "traditionally remembers and celebrates the IRA".
The acting commissioner found the councillor's Twitter activity "went beyond the acceptable bounds of proper political debate" and was "unnecessary and personally abusive".
It was also found to have "contributed towards a toxic atmosphere" during an election campaign and resulted in Mr Finucane believing his family's safety was "in jeopardy".
Mr Collins also faced criticism over comments in 2021 in which he raised concerns about a hotel in Carrickfergus being used by the Home Office to temporarily accommodate some migrants.
It has since emerged a complaint was made to the council standards watchdog and the remarks have been referred for investigation.
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