§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many absent vote applications were made for each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland for the election held on 10 June; how many applications were made on each ground for which such an application can be made, in each constituency; for each constituency how many applications were made for proxy votes; and how many in each category were(a) granted and (b) refused; [87598]
(2) what evidence she has obtained of attempts fraudulently to acquire absent votes in parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland for the election to the European Parliament on 10 June; and in which parliamentary constituencies investigations are being undertaken. [87599]
§ Mr. Paul Murphy[holding answer 22 June 1999]The only readily available statistics for absent vote applications in respect of the European Parliamentary elections on 10 June 1999 relate to the overall number of absent vote applications, granted and refused, for each parliamentary constituency in the Northern Ireland region. This information is detailed in the table.
391WAs far as evidence of fraudulently acquired absent votes, the Secretary of State is aware that the Chief Electoral Officer is currently investigating attempts made to abuse the absent voting system but his investigations are as yet incomplete.
European Parliamentary election—10 June 1999 Northern Ireland electoral region Registered electors applying to vote by post Registered electors applying to vote by proxy Constituency Granted Refused Granted Refused Belfast East 214 8 39 1 Belfast North 115 3 201 35 Belfast South 215 10 99 9 Belfast West 115 35 222 35 East Antrim 206 5 58 1 East Londonderry 488 5 140 11 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1,659 39 815 53 Foyle 579 16 701 34 Lagan Valley 358 5 56 6 Mid Ulster 823 24 1,063 101 North Antrim 345 7 102 3 North Down 322 5 62 1 Newry and Armagh 630 30 534 33 South Antrim 192 23 63 0 South Down 302 8 225 13 Strangford 354 5 51 2 Upper Bann 367 6 87 0 West Tyrone 931 28 1,079 86 Totals 8,215 262 5,597 424