The Democratic Unionist Party leadership is to decide if they should field a candidate in the marginal Fermanagh and South Tyrone seatin the British general election, it was announced today.
In a statement, the DUP's Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency branch confirmed it was referring the decision on whether Stormont Social Development Minister Mr Maurice Morrow should fight the seat to party officers.
Ulster Unionist security spokesman Mr Ken Maginnis, who is stepping down at the next election, holds the seat. The seat is being defended by the Ulster Unionists' Mr James Cooper.
After a decision last week by 1987 Enniskillen bomb survivor Mr Jim Dixon to stand as an anti-Belfast Agreement unionist candidate, the Fermanagh and South Tyrone DUP announced it was consulting the party hierarchy over whether Mr Morrow should stand.
The statement said: "The association has agreed to hand over to senior party officers, including the director of elections, Peter Robinson MP MLA, to decide in conjunction with Maurice Morrow MLA the best way forward to maximise the anti-Agreement vote in the constituency.
"We are confident the party officers will act in the best interests of unionism. It is imperative that we maximise the unionist anti-Agreement vote and ensure it is not split."
There are now three declared unionist candidates in a constituency that has not had more than one unionist fighting for the Westminster seat since 1979.
PA