Around 130,000 voters are expected to be wiped off the electoral register in Northern Ireland following the introduction of new anti-fraud measures, it emerged tonight.
More than a tenth of those registered last year are not eligible to vote in the Assembly elections scheduled for May 2003, official statistics to be published on Monday are expected to show.
The new figures are the first since requirements were introduced demanding every voter provide personal identification including their date of birth and National Insurance Number to register.
It is understood they will show that the greatest fall in numbers is in west Belfast, an area which has been plagued with allegations of vote fraud.
The smallest falls are believed to be in constituencies in the west.
Under the new system every individual voter must fill out a form and sign it personally, while in the past just one form was given out to each household and filled out by its head.
It is understood the new register will show 1,072,346 people listed as electors, which is 89 per cent of all those canvassed.
However, the figures are not final and a system of rolling registration means voters can still put their names forward.
SDLP South Belfast MLA Ms Carmel Hanna described the case of the "disappearing voters" as "startling".
"The political parties will only be able to see the draft register on Monday but the SDLP will be examining the situation very closely on a constituency by constituency basis," she said.
"The SDLP fully supports the new legislation which was enacted to combat voting fraud. "The Electoral Reform Society rightly states that the biggest danger to our current system is voter fraud and that we should never drop our guard."
PA