The SDLP has selected Lilian Seenoi-Barr as the next mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council.
She is to make history as the first black mayor in Northern Ireland.
However, the process by which Ms Seenoi-Barr was selected for the role has been criticised as undemocratic by some within the SDLP at council level.
Councillor Jason Barr announced on Monday that he has tendered his resignation from the SDLP over the selection process by the party.
Jason Barr said that this was not an easy decision to make, but said he felt that he was “left in an untenable position due to the decisions made by the management committee”.
“It has left a sour taste that I am not valued by the party I once believed in,” he said.
He announced that he will continue on as an independent councillor.
BBC News NI has approached the SDLP for comment.
The deputy mayor wished Ms Seenoi-Barr “a very successful tenure” in her position as mayor, adding that she “will go above and beyond” in the role.
Maasai woman, Derry girl
Ms Seenoi-Barr has been a councillor for Londonderry’s Foyleside ward since 2021 when she was co-opted by the SDLP.
Originally from Kenya, she previously worked to promote gender rights issues for Maasai women, focusing on forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
She was involved in organising the June 2020 Black Lives Matter protests which took place in Derry’s Guildhall Square.
“The people of this city have taken me into their hearts and everywhere I go I never fail to be amazed at the warmth, kindness and generosity of the people who live here,” Ms Seenoi-Barr said.
“Having initially come to Derry as a refugee facing an uncertain future, I can now truly say that my family have found their home. I am proud to be a Maasai woman and a Derry girl.”
The councillor added she is “incredibly excited” to get started in the role and will use her year-long term to “celebrate successes” and “shine a spotlight on the issues impacting far too many families” in Derry.
SDLP leader and Foyle MP Colum Eastwood described Ms Seenoi-Barr as “a fierce and compassionate advocate for everyone she meets”.
He said this is “a historic moment” and Ms Seenoi-Barr “will be an incredible mayor”.
‘Highly irregular, unfair and unprecedented’
The process by which Ms Seenoi-Barr was selected as mayor has attracted criticism.
Shauna Cusack and Jason Barr, both of whom intended to run against her in an internal party election for the role, had previously expressed concerns about the selection process.
In a joint statement posted on social media on Friday, both councillors said that they had been rejected as candidates for the role, “removing us from the process and competition, in order to put only one candidate forward for the post”.
They said that their objections were not “sour grapes”, but a “genuine concern about the lack of democracy in the process” and they wished the incoming mayor “the best of luck” for the year ahead.
In response to the statement, before the resignation of Mr Barr from the party, a spokesman for the SDLP told BBC News NI: “The SDLP does not comment on internal selection processes.
“Cllr Lilian Barr will be an outstanding mayor for everyone in Derry and Strabane. We look forward to supporting her and our entire team on the council over what will be a very exciting year.”
Ms Seenoi-Barr is set to replace Sinn Féin’s Patricia Logue in the post of mayor.
In the election for Derry City and Strabane District Council last year, Sinn Féin was the big winner with 18 seats out of the total of 40.
Following a decision by Sinn Féin, and in a break with recent tradition, there will not be a unionist mayor in the four-year council term.
Under the system known as d’Hondt – which ensures the proportionate allocation of council positions – Sinn Féin was entitled to nominate a mayor in three of the four years of the new council term.
The SDLP as the next-largest party is entitled to this position in the remaining year.
