been MCAlISkey observe the boycott.
in the South of Ireland.
for A Chara, We are addressing the following letter to you and BERNADETTE McAliskey received 33,969 first preference votes in the EEC election constituency of the North of Ireland.
stood as an performance was achieved in spite of an active campaign against her by the Provisional Republican Movement. The Provisionals were calling for a boycott of the election, and at one point described Bernadette as a 'scab' for refusing to But it is clear from the election results that the Provisionals' boycott campaign attracted little active support. Although the 57 per cent turn-out was significantly lower than in the general election, it was, for instance, higher than Furthermore, the level of abstention was much the same in both the Protestant and Catholic communities. If the votes of the straight Loyalist anything but a majority opposition?
Are we in the H-Blocks anti-repression candidate, and her credible population in the North as a whole. received a massive 140,622 yotes.
popular among the Protestant population.
But if the Provisionals' boycott campaign had comparatively little effect, the results of the Officials were disastrous, with two Republican Clubs candidates polling under 7,000 votes. What the election did show was that the SDLP retains significant political support among the Catholic population -something which could have been further undermined had the Provisionals joined with McAliskey in her campaign. As it was, John Hume of the SDLP On the Loyalist side, lan Paisley secured another impressive victory with 170,688. The most sectarian extreme of Loyalism has never been more In the run-up to the election, Republican prisoners in H Block issued an open letter to McAliskey explaining their opposition to her candidature. This letter and McAliskey's reply are reprinted below.