THE DUP’s Maurice Devenney has been suspended for “bringing the party into disrepute”.
It follows complaints about Mr Devenney during last year’s Westminster election.
The former mayor of Derry City has been accused of canvassing votes for the SDLP outside a polling station.
He denies the accusation.
Mr Devenney was elected mayor of Derry in 2011.
In May last year, the DUP stalwart confirmed mounting speculation that he was stepping down as Foyle MLA after just five months.
In a statement, Mr Devenney said at the time: “I have decided to step down from this role as I want to be able to concentrate on a number of local issues in the City.
“This is best achieved by being based in Derry.”
In January 2015, he took over from DUP MLA and Speaker Willie Hay.
It was claimed Mr Devenney had been become increasingly unhappy at Stormont about the amount of travelling he was doing from Derry to Belfast and was planning to resign.
The 56-year-old father of two received the chains of office at Derry City Council’s annual general meeting in May 2011.
He replaced the SDLP’s Colum Eastwood who at 27 became the youngest person to hold the position from 2010 to 2011.
Sinn Fein’s Kevin Campbell was elected as Mr Devenney’s deputy mayor.
Mr Devenney was elected to the council in 2005 and had served two terms as deputy mayor.
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