And then there were six...Áras race gets its ballot
Presidential vote on October 26 complete
THERE will be six candidates on the Presidential ballot when voters go to the polls on October 26.
Nominations for the Presidency will close tomorrow at noon, and yesterday the nomination papers for President Michael D Higgins were formally submitted in the Customs House.
Dragons’ Den star Seán Gallagher will be accompanied by his wife, Trish, and their children, Bobby and Lucy, when he lodges his nomination papers this morning, and he will be followed shortly after by Peter Casey.
They will join Sinn Féin’s Liadh Ní Riada on the ballot paper, as well as businessman Gavin Duffy and independent senator Joan Freeman.
Journalist Gemma O’Doherty failed to secure the backing of a sufficient number of county councils and now has little chance of getting on the ballot.
President Higgins is set to formally launch his election campaign in Dublin on Wednesday evening.
He is unlikely to participate in the first Presidential debate on RTÉ Radio 1 on Thursday afternoon due to scheduling problems.
More details of his campaign and who will be involved in his team are set to be unveiled tomorrow. However, Bernard Harbor, ordinarily of Forsa trade union, and Sarah Clarkin, who was involved in the Together For Yes campaign, will form part of the line-up.
Speaking ahead of his campaign being formally launched, President Higgins said he is looking forward to ‘an active campaign’. He added: ‘At this important time for our nation I am once again offering to serve, and I am asking the people of Ireland to place their confidence in me.’
Sinn Féin MEP Ms Ní Riada, yesterday called on Mr Higgins to participate in debates as she lodged her own nomination papers, saying: ‘It is only right that people need to hear what the candidates have to say and lay out their vision for a new Ireland.’
Mr Higgins’s diary has two engagements for Thursday, one in DCU at 11am and another with Prince Edward at 2.30pm in Áras an Uachtaráin.
And a spokesman for his campaign team indicated it is unlikely he will participate in the debate at 1pm. They said he has a ‘long record of participating in debates, and is looking forward to engaging with the other candidates and answering journalists’ questions over the next five weeks’.
The debate was scheduled for 1pm on Wednesday, just an hour after the nomination process formally closes but was later moved to Thursday. Mr Higgins’s campaign team said that the initial time was scheduled without consultation and he didn’t feel it was ‘appropriate’ to participate in a
‘I am offering to serve’
debate before the nomination process was complete.
They then said his schedule dictated that he will be unavailable on Thursday and Friday.
Due to his absence, it appears that Sean Gallagher will not participate in the debate as he believes it is ‘crucial that all candidates are treated equally and that debates include all candidates’.
Ms Ní Riada, Mr Casey, Mr Duffy and Ms Freeman have all confirmed they will participate in the debate.
A spokesperson for RTÉ confirmed the broadcast will be hosted by Áine Lawlor and that all six candidates have received an invitation.
In a statement, RTÉ said: ‘Thursday’s debate will be the largest audience platform of any radio debate in Ireland in the Presidential election campaign.
‘At one o’clock, RTÉ Radio 1’s News at One maintains the highest consistent audience of any radio programme in Ireland. The programme reaches 346,000 listeners across the full duration.
‘In the event that a candidate is not available, the programme will broadcast on air their reason for not participating. Further details regarding the confirmed participants and structure of the programme will be announced closer to the broadcast.’
IT’S all but certain that we now have the names of the six hopefuls vying for the Presidency. Each of them is facing into a gruelling time as they traverse the country on the quest for votes.
Presidential elections are not for the faint-hearted, but the 2011 campaign was notable for more than its fair share of bruising moments.
It is to be fervently hoped that we don’t see a repeat of that unseemly spectacle this time around.
The office of Uachtarán na hÉireann is a solemn and dignified one. Everyone seeking to hold the post should remember that as they embark on the campaign trail.