Westminster '97
WEST TYRONE CANDIDATE PAT DOHERTY
Sinn Fein
Vice President
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Pat was elected as a peace negotiator in the Forum elections last May when Sinn Fein received 15.7% of the vote. Prior to this he trebled the Sinn Fein vote in the Donegal North East Constituency.
In 1987 Pat Doherty was instrumental in launching the party's current peace strategy with the publication of the discussion document ``Scenario for Peace''. This was followed in 1992 with the document ``Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland''. Since this time he has played a central role in promoting and support the strategy of the peace process.
He headed the Sinn Fein delegation to the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, organised by the Dublin government following the IRA cessation of August 1994 and is centrally involved in our dialogue with the Irish government.
Pat has travelled extensively to promote the party's peace strategy and has met with senior politicians in both Washington D.C. and Brussels. Earlier this year he met with senior US Congress members and Senators and spoke about the historic neglect and discrimination suffered West of the Bann not least in West Tyrone. He also raised the question of inward investment for the region.
CONSTITUENCY PROFILE
Tyrone West
| Party | 1992 | 1996 |
| SF | --- | 11,516 |
| SDLP | --- | 11,622 |
| UUP | --- | 7,327 |
| DUP | --- | 6,727 |
This is one of the three crunch constituencies as Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the UUP battle for this seat. Sinn Fein vice president Pat Doherty has been campaigning relentlessly here to convince nationalist voters that the seat is winnable and that they can overcome the failure of the SDLP to agree a single nationalist candidate. Along with Mid Ulster it is one of the most close run counts in this election.