Name game spells trouble at the polling stations

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Name game spells trouble at the polling stations
Sunday, May 10, 2009 By Niamh Connolly, Political Correspondent
As campaign posters for three separate elections are put up in Dublin Central and Dublin South, voters are confused over who is standing for which election.

According to the returning officer section for Dublin Central, this is the first time that three elections have taken place for Europe, local authorities and the D

While referendums have taken place alongside European and local elections in the past, the two by-elections in Dublin Central and Dublin South are sure to add to confusion on voting day, June 5.

To make matters even less clear, a number of candidates - Maurice Ahern (FF), David Geary (Greens),Christy Burke (SF) and Shaun Tracey (SF) - will be contesting both the local elections and by-elections, so their names will appear on both sets of ballot papers.

This scenario has caused problems in the past. In 1989, a general election was held in conjunction with the European election, and some candidates ran in both elections.

Some voters mistakenly combined their preferences as one single transferable vote for the D Proinsias de Rossa and then continued with 10, 11 and 12 in the European ballot paper,' said Donnelly.

To try to alleviate confusion, European ballot papers will be coloured white, and by-election sheets will be green. The local ballot papers will be various colours, depending on the local authority.

Voters will place both European and local ballot papers in the same box while there will be a separate one for the by election.

However, if the ballots get mixed up, they will not be considered ''spoiled'' and will be transferred ''in a transparent manner'' to the correct area in the counting centre.

An extra staff member will be at each of the by-election polling stations during voting hours - from 7am to 10pm - to troubleshoot possible problems.

The returning officer said there will be no confusion on their side. They will be training staff for ''any problems anticipated''.

By-elections

Two by-elections are being held, in Dublin South and Dublin Central, on June 5 to replace the late TDs Seamus Brennan and Tony Gregory.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley is due to move the writ in the D Tuesday or Wednesday, having previously signed orders for European and local elections. The supplement to the register closes on Monday, May 18, and the postal voters' list closes two days after the minister signs the polling day order for the by elections.

In Dublin Central, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's brother, Maurice, is running for Fianna F Fine Gael is putting forward Paschal Donohoe. Also running are Labour Party Senator Ivana Bacik, David Gear y (Greens), Christy Burke (SF), Maureen O'Sullivan (Ind) and Malachy Steenson (Workers' Party).

After much speculation, Fine Gael unveiled RTE's economics editor George Lee as its so-called celebrity candidate for Dublin South last week.

He will be up against Seamus Brennan's son, Shay (FF), as well as Labour Party Senator Alex White. The other three running are Elizabeth Davidson (Greens), Shaun Tracey (SF) and Ross O'Mullane (Ind).

European elections

European elections are held every five years. There are four constituencies - Dublin (three seats), East (three seats),North West (three seats) and South (three seats).

In Dublin, where the number of seats has been reduced from four to three, Fianna F MEP Eoin Ryan and Cllr Eibhlin Byrne. The other three sitting MEPs - Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell, Labour's Proinsias de Rossa and Sinn F in's Mary LouMcDonald - are all running again. The others making up the field are Green Party Senator Deirdre de Burca, Independent Patricia McKenna, Libertas's Caroline Simons and the Socialist Party's Joe Higgins.

In the East constituency, the sitting MEPs who are running again are Fianna F Liam Aylward and Fine Gael's Mairead McGuinness. The main government party is also fielding Thomas Byrne, while Fine Gael is also running John Paul Phelan. Sinn F in has two candidates - Kathleen Funchion and Tom Sharkey. Labour's Nessa Childers and Libertas's Ray O'Malley are also running.

There are three outgoing MEPs battling for the South three-seater - Brian Crowley (FF), Colm Burke (FG) and Kathy Sinnott (Ind).The other five candidates are Ned O'Keeffe (FF), Sean Kelly (FG), Alan Kelly (Labour), Dan Boyle (Greens) and Toireasa Ferris (SF) Libertas founder Declan Ganley has invested heavily in posters and advertising in the North We s t constituency, where he is running. The outgoing MEPs in this region are independent Marian Harkin and Fine Gael's Jim Higgins.

Fianna F Pascal Mooney, while the others in the field are Joe O'Reilly (FG), Susan O'Keeffe (Labour), Padraig Mac Loclainn (SF) and Fiachra O'Luain (Ind).

Local elections

There are 114 local authorities in the country following recent revisions - 29 county councils, five city councils, five borough councils and 75 town councils.

Fianna F

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