McMullan elected chair of Moyle Council

Oliver McMullen

Sinn Féin's Oliver McMullan made history on Monday night when he was elected as chair of Moyle District Council, the first time the party has held the position.

In another historic first, the party went into Monday's meeting as the largest party on the council, with four councillors, and proposed the introduction of the D'Hondt system of voting.

The move was opposed by the DUP, who claimed that, although they were not against the D'Hondt system, they were against the Sinn Féin proposal as it was not on the agenda.

The DUP proposed Independent Councillor Séamus Blaney for chair in an attempt to block Sinn Féin but this move was defeated and McMullan was elected by an eight to seven majority.

McMullan, on his election, introduced the D'Hondt system, thereby mapping out the makeup of Moyle Council for the next four years. Ironically, under D'Hondt the DUP was offered the vice-chair of the council but refused to sit alongside Sinn Féin and the post went to Independent Unionist Price McConaghy.