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European Elections (NI) - Thursday 7 June 1979


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European Elections (NI)
Thursday 7 June 1979

Introduction

The following are the (draft) results of the 1979 European Parliament elections held in Northern Ireland on Thursday 7 June 1979. The elections were held to elect three Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). For the purpose of the European elections Northern Ireland is treated as a single constituency and voting is by means of 'proportional representation' (PR).

Summary of Results:

Electorate: 1,029,490
Total valid vote: 572,239
Spoiled votes: 13,773
Percentage turnout: 56.92%
Quota: 143,060
Votes unaccounted for: 47

Ian Paisley, Democratic Unionist Party (UDUP), was elected on the first count.
John Hume, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) was elected on the third count.
John Taylor, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was elected on the sixth count.

First Count

Candidate and Party
First Preference Votes
% Valid Poll
Ian Paisley, Democratic Unionist Party (UDUP)
170,688
(29.8%)
John Hume, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
140,622
(24.6%)
John Taylor, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
68,185
(11.9%)
Harry West, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
56,984
(10.0%)
Oliver Napier, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI)
39,026
(6.8%)
J. Kilfedder, Ulster Unionist
38,198
(6.7%)
Bernadette McAliskey, Independend (Ind)
33,969
(5.9%)
D. Bleakley, United Community
9,383
(1.6%)
Paddy Devlin, United Labour Party (ULP)
6,122
(1.1%)
E. Cummings, Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (UPNI)
3,712
(0.6%)
B. Brennan, Republican Clubs (Rep. C)
3,258
(0.6%)
F. Donnelly, Republican Clubs (Rep. C)
1,160
(0.2%)
J. Murray, Ulster Liberal Party (U. Lib.)
932
(0.2%)

Ian Paisley, Democratic Unionist Party (UDUP), was elected on the first count; his surplus votes were distributed.

Second Count

Candidate and Party
Votes Distributed
New Total
John Hume, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
+55
140,677
John Taylor, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
+9,044
77,229
Harry West, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
+4,179
61,163
J. Kilfedder, Ulster Popular Unionist Party (UPUP)
+12,424
50,622
Oliver Napier, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI)
+378
39,404
Bernadette McAliskey (Independent (Ind.))
+7
33,976
D. Bleakley, United Community
+218
9,601
Paddy Devlin, United Labour Party (ULP)
+25
6,147
E. Cummings, Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (UPNI)
+125
3,837
B. Brennan, Republican Clubs (Rep. C.)
+5
3,263
F. Donnelly, Republican Clubs (Rep. C.)
+4
1,164
J. Murray, Ulster Liberal Party (U. Lib.)
+16
948

Bleakley, Brennan, Cummings, Devlin, Donnelly and Murray were all eliminated on the second count; their votes were then distributed.

Third Count

Candidate and Party
Votes Distributed
New Total
John Hume, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
+5,396
146,073
John Taylor, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
+2,979
80,208
Harry West, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
+789
61,952
Jim Kilfedder, Ulster Popular Unionist Party (UPUP)
+3,364
53,986
Oliver Napier, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI)
+6,299
45,703
Bernadette McAliskey (Independent (Ind.))
+2,130
36,105

John Hume, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) was elected on the third count. Bernadette McAliskey (Independent) was eliminated on this count, and her votes were then distributed.

Fourth Count

Candidate and Party
Votes Distributed
New Total
John Taylor, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
+198
80,406
Harry West, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
+188
62,140
Jim Kilfedder, Ulster Popular Unionist Party (UPUP)
+638
54,624
Oliver Napier, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI)
+5,561
51,264

Oliver Napier, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), was eliminated on the fourth count; his votes were then distributed.

Fifth Count

Candidate and Party
Votes Distributed
New Total
John Taylor, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
+16,001
96,407
Jim Kilfedder, Ulster Popular Unionist Party (UPUP)
+14,760
69,384
Harry West, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
+3,776
65,916

Harry West, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was eliminated on the fifth count; his votes were then distributed.

Sixth Count

Candidate and Party
Votes Distributed
New Total
John Taylor, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
+57,059
153,466
Jim Kilfedder, Ulster Popular Unionist Party (UPUP)
+3,174
72,558

John Taylor, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was elected on the sixth and final count.

 

Source: Flackes and Elliott (1994)

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