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Irish Independent
21 Feb 2001
Sinn Fein accused of vote stealing
Dominic Cunningham
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SINN Fein last night stood accused of vote stealing on a widespread, systematic and professional scale as the Stormont Assembly debated a motion
calling for a report on plans to counter electoral fraud in the North.
Dr Joe Hendron, the former SDLP MP for West Belfast, said on one occasion he watched people at a polling booths change wigs, trousers and skirts
before entering the building to cast multiple votes.
On that occasion, he said, electoral fraud was not carried out on the same professional scale as it was nowadays but he emphasised that vote stealing
was not responsible for him losing the seat to Sinn Fein.
DUP member Rev William McCrea claimed that observers saw Medical Cards one of the documents used for identification at elections being taken openly
out of the boot of a car during a Mid-Ulster election and handed to people who then went to vote.
Rev McCrea said Sinn Fein and the IRA were "political masters at vote robbing and vote stealing" and did it without even being embarrassed.
Sinn Fein's Pat McNamee said his party had nothing to fear from a scrutiny of the electoral system and predicted that if new measures were introduced
only time would tell the effect on the republican vote.
But other Assembly members claimed electoral fraud and corruption was rife and the practice included the intimidation of election staff, the petrol
bombing of polling booths, and the theft of postal votes.
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ti=41&ca=9&si=365993&issue_i
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