Security at Lisneal count centre prompts exemption

The Lisneal College count centre was one of four count centres - alongside Banbridge, Newtownabbey and Omagh - which were identified as problematic by the office.

Its small size and the extra security measures brought in after the Óglaigh na hÉireann attack on the vote centre during the Westminster election count in 2010 meant the Northern Ireland elections boss was not confident a 1pm verification deadline on May 6 could be met.

In a statement to the Sentinel the Chief Electoral Officer Graham Shields, explained: “The problem was exactly as referred to in the report, i.e. the amount of floor space in the count halls at Lisneal College was less than ideally would have been required and the pressures on space were exacerbated by the large numbers of candidates and counting agents who had to be accommodated at the premises because of the combined polls.

“Additional security measures put in place in light of the terrorist incident at Templemore Leisure Centre during the Westminster election count in 2010 were also a factor and collectively all of these issues led to the request for the extended verification time.”

The EC report into the Local Government, Assembly and Referendum counts in May explained how the Electoral Office decided unused ballot papers would be verified overnight on May 5 and that verification of the used ballot papers would start at 8am on 6 May.

“However, after reflecting on the size of some venues, the potential for security issues to arise and the number of people who would require access, the CEO applied to the CCO (UK’s Chief Counting Officer) for an exemption to the 1pm deadline for completion of verification. He was satisfied that if he had more time to verify the referendum count in Northern Ireland it could start at 4pm.”

The election boss consequently wrote to the CCO on March 14 requesting an exemptionn and this was granted on April 14.

“In her response the CCO noted that although the request for the exemption related to Northern Ireland as a single voting area, the additional material provided in support of the application stated that the potential problem was limited to a number of count venues.

“Those highlighted as problematic by the CEO were Lisneal College, Banbridge, Newtownabbey and Omagh,” the report states.

It elsewhere notes: “The only venue that was different from 2010 was the count for Foyle and East Londonderry, which was moved from the Templemore Sports Complex to Lisneal College.

“This change followed a security review by the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) after disruption had been caused at the 2010 count when a bomb exploded outside the complex and another device was found inside the premises at a later date.”