Turnout up in Foyle on Westminster 2015 reversing steady decades long decline between elections

Fifty-six per cent (40,187) of the electorate here cast ballots on Thursday, May 5.

That’s up on the lack lustre Westminster election last year, when just 37,528 (53.6 per cent) turned out.

Yesterday’s turnout was down, however, in percentage terms, on the Assembly poll in 2011 when 39,686 (57.8 per cent) cast ballots.

As there are likely to be between 500 and 1,000 spoilt and invalid votes, the quota to be elected later today, is likely to stand somewhere between 5,600 and 5,700, which will be the highest ceiling since 2007, if that’s the case.

In East Londonderry, the absence of Gregory Campbell’s name from the ballot paper perhaps contributed to turnout there barely scraping above the 50 per cent mark.

In the East Londonderry constituency 34,848 votes were polled giving a turnout of just 50.79 per cent.