A date was set yesterday for the court hearing at which Ulster Unionist Mr James Cooper hopes to unseat Ms Michelle Gildernew, the recently-elected Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh/South Tyrone. The case is due to start on September 17th in the High Court in Belfast.
Mr Cooper, an Enniskillen solicitor, lost his bid to become an MP by just 53 votes. He is alleging that "actions and threats" by Sinn Fein members led to votes being cast at Garrison, Co Fermanagh, after the 10 p.m. closing time. Mr Cooper maintains that if the invalid votes were disallowed he would have had a majority and therefore would be the lawfully-elected MP.