BYAILEEN MURPHY

Speculation is mounting that Minister Arlene Foster will contest the coming by-election in the Enniskillen ward.

The 17th September is expected to be the date the local by-election will take place in a bid to find a Councillor to replace the late Joe Dodds who died earlier this year.

The DUP's co-opted candidate, Thomas Hogg was rejected by the Ulster Unionist Councillor Bertie Kerr. Since his rejection, Mr Hogg has announced he will not put himself forward for the seat.

He explained his decision: "In order to maximise the chance of holding the seat for unionism, I am firmly of the view that I should not enter the contest but instead make way for a candidate who is high profile and has a proven track record as a standard bearer for unionism in Fermanagh.

"I have indicated my decision to the chairman of the DUP Local Government Association in Fermanagh. I believe that Arlene Foster is the only candidate who can save the seat from the clutches of Sinn Féin."

Mrs Foster refused to be drawn on the suggestion she may stand. A spokesperson for the DUP explained this was a Local Government Association matter and that the Group would be meeting in the coming days to chose their candidate. However, he did add that the Party would be fielding a 'strong' candidate to try and retain this seat.

Mrs Foster was previously elected in the Enniskillen Ward in 2005, with a huge personal vote ensuring she topped the poll with 2,954 first preference votes.

Following her appointment as Environment Minister in May 2007, she stood down from Fermanagh District Council. She recently moved to her current position as Minister for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Industry.

And, with two months to election day, all the other political parties here are taking their time in selecting a candidate to field. The Ulster Unionists, Sinn Féin and the SDLP have all indicated they will be meeting in the coming days to select their candidate.

There are also strong suggestions that Jim Allister's breakaway unionist group, 'Traditional Unionist Voice', will field a candidate.

Commenting on the upcoming by-election, TUV Fermanagh branch chairman Samuel Morrison said: "It is a matter of regret that the chaos of the two Unionist parties on the Council could potentially hand a seat to Sinn Féin.

"The confirmation by Bert Johnston that Arlene Foster has been approached to contest the seat does not fill me with a great deal of enthusiasm. If Mr Hogg was unsuitable because he wouldn't have time to devote to Council business, surely the same could be said of Mrs Foster.

"How can one be a Minister and a Councillor at the same time? In fact, during her time as DoE Minister, Mrs Foster said she was intended 'to work with colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office in order to introduce legislative proposals to end the dual mandate of those Councillors who are also Members of the Assembly and/or Parliament.

"Has she now changed her mind on the subject or is Mr Johnston unaware of Mrs Foster's position on the matter? I think voters deserve clarity on this matter."

Mr Morrison added: "With respect to my own Party's position on fielding a candidate – this is a matter for Party members in Fermanagh and will be decided at a branch meeting. However, given the obvious confusion in the ranks of the other parties, one is tempted to suggest that the best interests of Unionism would be served if both the UUP and DUP stood aside to allow a candidate from the united Traditional Unionist Voice to stand."

The move to a by-election was also condemned by Seán Lynch, Cathaoirleach of Sinn Féin Comhairle Ceantair.

"We remain of the view that this by-election is an unnecessary expense for the ratepayer of Fermanagh at a time when the County is suffering from poor roads and cut-backs to services across the board. Ratepayers are being left to pay the price for internal Unionist political point-scoring,".

He went on: "Whilst we didn't call for this election, we look forward to presenting voters with the choice of a Sinn Féin candidate. Given that we topped the poll for first preference votes in Enniskillen during the last local government elections of 2005, we are confident and up for the challenge of returning another Sinn Féin Councillor for the area."

He revealed Sinn Féin were currently in the process of selecting a candidate and this task would be completed soon.