Ian Paisley Recall Petition "will not be made public"

By Adam Evans

It's been confirmed the register of people signing a Recall Petition for Ian Paisley will not be made public.

The North Antrim MP is suspended by the House of Commons and from the DUP for failing to declare family holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan Government.

A recall ballot, where voters can sign a petition calling for a by-election, is open for another 5 weeks.

UUP Leader and North Antrim MLA, Robin Swann had raised concerns the list of those signing it could be made public.

Mr Swann said: “I had raised the query after being approached by a number of constituents who feared signing in case their names were made public.

“I am concerned that electors in North Antrim had felt such a level of concern that they had something to fear from signing the Recall Petition for Ian Paisley.

“Although this is the first time that the recall petition has been used, the registered voters of North Antrim should no longer be worried that in signing the petition their names will be made public. 

“ In her communication with me, the Chief Electoral Officer informed me that the Marked Register for the Recall Petition will not be made available as the Marked Register for electoral events would normally be. 

“She said there are two key principles in this situation - ensuring the secrecy of the ballot and allowing parties to campaign. 

“This Marked Register will not really assist campaigning as the normal would do and to provide it would be to show, in essence how people voted. The note on the Notice that the electorate received should be read as indicating that it will not be available as normal”.