Colin Duffy candidacy?
Mark Devenport, BBC
There have been a lot of rumours today about the possibility of Colin Duffy, who is being held on remand charged with murdering two soldiers at Antrim, standing as a candidate in the European elections. Some sources I have spoken to say that members of the Duffy family are keen on the idea and a meeting has been arranged for Thursday night to discuss it. Others suggest there’s still disagreement about the plan.
Nominations don’t open until April 28th and are due to close on May 7th. Our understanding is that Colin Duffy would be eligible to stand, although if he was elected, and then subsequently convicted and sentenced to more than a year in prison, he would automatically lose his seat in the European Parliament. Given the low level of the anti-power sharing republican vote in the last Assembly elections taking a seat seems a fairly unlikely scenario. However a candidacy would provide an interesting opportunity to test what public support the dissident message have.
UPDATE: I have just talked to Colin Duffy’s brother Paul who told me the family is seriously considering this. They won’t make their final decision for about a week, after they have assessed the likely costs, how much support they can muster, and how to mount an effective campaign.
