Sinn Féin pulls candidate from South Belfast seat in attempt to form pact with SDLP
Gerry Adams’s party wants nationalist rivals to step aside in another seat in exchange
Sinn Féin has dramatically pulled its candidate in South Belfast from the general election.
Belfast’s former lord mayor Alex Maskey’s departure from the race will boost the chances of SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell retaining the seat in the face of a challenge from unionism.
Sinn Féin’s move is seen as a strategy to put pressure on the SDLP – its nationalist rivals – to pull its candidate from Fermanagh & South Tyrone and form a pan-nationalist pact.
However, the SDLP indicated this afternoon that it would not be withdrawing its candidate in Fermanagh, Fearghal McKinney, despite Sinn Féin’s decision.
Last week, Margaret Ritchie, the leader of the SDLP, rejected the offer of a pact with Sinn Féin to cover the two constituencies.
Announcing the move, Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Féin, said: “This is a bold leadership initiative by Sinn Féin. It is about protecting and defending two nationalist seats.”
The West Belfast MP said that he believed that “this initiative will be widely welcomed by nationalists, although there will be understandable disappointment in South Belfast that they will not have a republican candidate.”
Sinn Féin’s chances of retaining Fermanagh & South Tyrone have been hit by the agreement of the DUP and Ulster Unionist/Conservative alliance to step aside in favour of an independent candidate.
Sinn Féin would like the SDLP to give them a free run in that constituency.
Meanwhile, the UUP and the Tories said the DUP’s Jimmy Spratt should join their campaign in South Belfast to get their candidate, Paula Bradshaw, elected.
However, sources said there would not be an agreement on a single unionist candidate.
Last week, Maskey criticised what he described as the “intervention by the Orange Order” in South Belfast.
Loyal orders in the South Belfast constituency had written an open letter to Sir Reg Empey, the leader of the UUP, calling on him to strike a deal with the DUP that would lead to both parties backing a joint unionist candidate.
