The Green Party has this morning repeated that its supporters should transfer their votes as they see fit in the upcoming elections.
The party yesterday moved to distance themselves from their Fianna Fáil Coalition partners by refusing to call on their supporters to transfer their votes in the three sets of elections scheduled for June 5th.
Speaking this morning, Dan Boyle, deputy leader in the Seanad, said the Greens traditionally did not have an election pact.
"What we'll be saying to our supporters is that we want to maximise our first-preference vote, maintain those votes . . . and if transfers are available subsequently, look at each set of elections differently, and transfer accordingly," Mr Boyle said.
Asked if he was going to give advice on how voters should transfer votes in the Dublin South and Central byelections, Mr Boyle said: "We've never given advice on how people should transfer votes . . . and we're not going to do so. This is our electoral strategy as an independent party, and it's what we are going to do to maintain our independence into all future elections.
"The one situation where it affects the stability of the Government is in relation to two byelections, and even with those, we know it is traditionally notoriously difficult for the Government to win these byelections.
"We believe in the intelligence of Green voters to use their votes wisely, we also want those votes to exist until the last possible minute in electing Green candidates."
Mr Boyle said on Morning Irelandhe believed the Government was doing a "good job" in difficult circumstances.
Green Party Minister for Energy and Communications Eamon Ryan said yesterday that his party’s supporters should “make their own mind up” on who to transfer to in the European and local elections as well as the two byelections.
“I’d say look to candidates that are espousing what I’d see as that Green vision and transfer as you see fit,” said the Minister.
He said the local elections should be about getting good local representation, while the European elections were about the future for Europe and the byelections were about the future of Dublin.
“I’d actually ask people to transfer to people who have a vision for Dublin as a vibrant, green, enterprising city,” Mr Ryan told Newstalk.
A Green Party spokesman later denied the Minister had snubbed his Fianna Fáil partners in Government, saying it was in line with the way the party had always fought elections.
“There is no reason to shut down the prospect of transfers from anybody and we are not precluding anybody from transferring to Fianna Fáil,” said the spokesman. He added that the party had always been keen on local democracy and it left it up to people to make up their own minds on who to transfer to.
