Dr Anne McCloskey is elected deputy leader of Aontú

Derry GP Dr Ann Mc Closkey announced, at a public meeting in the Maldron Hotel on Monday evening, that she will run as an Independent MLA. DER4015GS

She was elected to the role at a meeting of the party’s Ard Chomhairle on Saturday.

The Derry native was elected to Derry and Strabane Council for the Ballyarnett electoral area in May’s local elections.

She is seen as a key player for Aontú in the north and across the country.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD said Dr McCloskey had committed so much of her life to supporting the wider community and advancing the political empowerment of the most vulnerable and marginalised, especially in her own city of Derry.

He added: “She is an Irish republican in the truest sense of the term. Following in the footsteps of the United Irish movement, Dr McCloskey is dedicated to achieving Irish unity where the self-determination of the Irish people is realised and where genuine pluralism and a national democracy flourish.”