FORMER SDLP councillor Máiría Cahill has urged voters in North Belfast to back the DUP.
She endorsed Nigel Dodds on the basis that he had raised her allegations of rape by a member of the IRA with the secretary of state, while she said Alliance were also supportive.
Ms Cahill, who served a six-month stint in the Seanad as a Labour representative, is the granddaughter of the late Joe Cahill, the one-time chief of staff of the Provisional IRA.
"You have the power to choose a representative who will legislate on matters of health, housing, education, business, investment and a range of other issues which will affect your life," she posted on Facebook.
"Or you can choose someone who won't turn up – leaving you and your area with no voice and no representation."
As well as criticising Sinn Féin's abstentionist policy, Ms Cahill also attacked the party's response to her own complaint, alongside senior members' failure to report her allegations to the authorities.
