Malachi Curran is a politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Curran was elected to Down District Council

Down District Council

Down District Council is a Local Council in County Down in Northern Ireland. The Council is headquartered in Downpatrick. Other towns in the Council area are Ardglass, Ballynahinch, Castlewellan, Clough, Crossgar, Dundrum, Killough, Killyleagh, Newcastle, Saintfield, Seaforde and Strangford...

 in 1993

Northern Ireland local elections, 1993

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 19 May 1993.-Overall:-Belfast:-References:...

 for the Social Democratic and Labour Party

Social Democratic and Labour Party

The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...

 (SDLP). He resigned from the SDLP to stand as a Labour Coalition

Labour Coalition

The Labour Coalition was an electoral coalition in Northern Ireland of left wing and labour groups, formed to stand in the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum elections...

 candidate for the Northern Ireland Forum

Northern Ireland Forum

The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998....

 in 1996. Although the group did not win any constituency seats, it was awarded two top-up seats, which went to Hugh Casey

Hugh Casey (politician)

Hugh Casey is a former politician in Northern Ireland.Casey worked as a community project manager in Lurgan before being elected to Craigavon Borough Council as a Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor in 1989. In 1994, he left the SDLP, after accepting an MBE, claiming that some in the...

 and Curran.

Shortly after the elections to the Forum, the Coalition dissolved. Curran was recognised as leader of the Labour group in the Forum. With seven other leaders of Forum groupings that had supported the Good Friday Agreement, he won a Harriman Democracy Prize in 1998.

Curran then formed the Labour Party of Northern Ireland

Labour Party of Northern Ireland

The Labour Party of Northern Ireland is a political party in Northern Ireland, formed in 1985 by a group around Paddy Devlin, a former Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor and Northern Ireland Assembly member, and Billy Blease, a member of the British House of Lords.-Progress:In 1987, the...

. Under this label, he failed to take a seat standing in South Down

South Down (Assembly constituency)

South Down is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...

 at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998

-Seats summary:-Details:Although the SDLP won the most first preference votes, the Ulster Unionists won the most seats in the Assembly. This has been attributed to several reasons, including:...

, winning only 1% of the first preference votes.

Curran stood as an independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 at the 2003 elections to the Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003

The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...

, but saw his vote drop to 0.4%. At the 2007 election

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007

The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...

, he placed bottom in South Down, taking just 123 votes.