Six candidates for Belfast West

A by-election will be held in the Belfast West constituency on June 9 to replace Gerry Adams.

Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, resigned his Westminster seat in January to run for a seat in the Irish parliament, Dail Eireann.

He was duly elected in the March general election to represent County Louth.

Adams was first elected as MP for West Belfast MP in 1983. He lost the seat to the SDLP in 1992 but held it between 1997 and 2010, with increased majorities.

At the last election he won a majority of more than 17,500 - 71 per cent of the vote.

Sinn Fein NI Asembly member for Belfast West, Paul Maskey, is the party's candidate at next month's by-election.

The other candididates are:

Alex Attwood (SDLP), Brian Kingston (DUP), Bill Manwaring (UUP), Aaron McIntyre (Alliance) and Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit).

There was some confusion about the way in which Adams left Westminster.

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