Northern Ireland

Fermanagh and South Tyrone: Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew retains seat by just 57 votes

IT took more than eight hours of counting and a handshake before Tom Elliott finally conceded defeat in the Fermanagh and South Tyrone race at 6.45am this morning.

Just 57 votes separated Michelle Gildernew from the UUP politician and former leader after a laborious recount in Omagh Leisure Centre.

Overshadowed by high profile contests in Foyle, North Belfast and North Down during the election campaign, it was the huge border constituency which once again produced the knife-edge result of the general election.

A full recount was ordered after the initial process produced a gap of just 62 votes from the 51,097 that were cast.

The 57 vote margin is the third closest race in the history of the constituency. Just 53 votes separated the candidates in 2001, while four was the gap in 2010. In all three, Michelle Gildernew emerged the winner.

But the extremely close nature of the latest race didn’t become apparent until 3am on Friday morning, largely the result of new stringent rules introduced by the Electoral Office for Omagh Leisure Centre, banning party supporters from being present at the count centre.

It left just a small band of party talliers and observers restricted for most of the night to the goldfish bowl of the count hall, beyond the reach of the press pack.

With Sinn Féin confident enough to leave Michelle Gildernew left out of its party election broadcast and Tom Elliott adopting a low key campaign, there was little evidence to suggest the incumbent would be unseated.

But a surge in the Alliance vote and the SDLP regaining some lost ground in the constituency, appeared to eat into the sizeable remain vote that Michelle Gildernew had focused her campaign on.

Just over 3,200 votes were shaved off her 2017 total, with Tom Elliott losing a smaller, but ultimately crucial 2,426 votes from the last general election.

“It’s always close in Fermanagh and South Tyrone and we like to keep you all tantilized,” said Ms Gildernew shortly after the official declaration at 7am.

“Obviously this election was called because of Brexit, 59 per cent of people in this constituency voted to remain. I think I have always wanted to respect that mandate. But unfortunately it looks like things are now going to happen outside of our control, that we can’t stop.

“But I think the people of Ireland are ready to take on a new challenge and have a respectful and courteous debate about how we move into the future.

“We have a big job to do in terms of building an Ireland that we all need to be part of. I would hope that we can sit down in weeks to come with the people here tonight and with others to work on building a sustainable and quality future for the next generations.”

An exhausted Tom Elliott was once again left to ponder his political future.

“After a long campaign, a long day, a long night, naturally you are exhausted. But you expect that in politics. It’s always going to be on a knife-edge in Fermanagh and South Tyrone,” he said.

“I would’ve liked to have been on the other side of that margin, but I’m not. I just need to regroup now and reassess the situation, where we are as a party and even where I am politically myself.”

In his short concession speech, Mr Elliott claimed that he had engaged with and won the support of a number of nationalist households during the campaign.

“I know there were a number of nationalists who voted for me, so my thanks goes to them. I thought it was a major step from some of them, who invited me into their home to have a discussion with them and other groups.

“I must say I was thrilled to have that discussion with them and be assured of their vote.”

  • For full results click here

CANDIDATE VOTE % SHARE SINCE 2017

Michelle Gildernew (SF) 21,986 (43%) -4.2%

Tom Elliott (UUP) 21,929 (42.9%) -2.6%

Adam Gannon (SDLP) 3,446 (6.7%) +1.9%

Matthew Beaumont (ALL) 2,650 (5.2%) +3.5%

Caroline Wheeler (Ind Lab) 751 (1.5%)

Electorate: 72,848

Turnout: 51,097 70.13% (-5.67%)

Majority: 57