A legal challenge is likely to be made to the outcome of the vote to elect the new Seanad. Following the checking of ballots for the filling of five seats on the Cultural and Educational panel, Labour and Fine Gael activists challenged the disallowance of 11 envelopes containing votes.
These were among a total of 15 sets of votes which were deemed unacceptable by the returning officer, Seanad clerk, Ms Deirdre Lane, following legal advice from barristers.
The number of "spoilt" votes was regarded as highly unusual among a professional electorate of around 1,000. TDs, outgoing senators and members of the main local authorities elect members to the Upper House.
Even before yesterday's count got underway, Labour became aware that the votes of five of its Dublin councillors had not been properly authenticated. Applications were made to Ms Lane and to the Minister for the Environment, Mr Noel Dempsey, to have the matter rectified. When Ms Lane announced the rejection of envelopes missing the required affixed pink slip, Labour's general secretary, Mr Ray Kavanagh and colleagues lodged a formal objection to her decision.
Afterwards, Mr Kavanagh said they were reserving the right to ask the High Court to rule that the excluded ballots be re-instated. He said this could involve a recount.
Mr Maurice Manning (FG), a former Seanad leader and a candidate on the panel, joined in the formal objection.
The votes of all five Labour members of Fingal County Council and of two Fine Gael members were not properly authenticated. The error is said to have come to light when another councillor asked for the identification documentation which must accompany completed voting papers.
Mr Kavanagh said his party's objections were fortified by the remedial efforts attempted when the error had come to light within the last week.
Disgruntled Labour activists pointed out that with an electorate of 102, their "missing" amounted to about 5 per cent of the electorate. With each elector being able to vote for candidates on the five different panels, a potentially crucial 25 first preference votes were at stake.
Labour has six candidates vying for some of the 43 vocational panel seats.
On the completion of the ballot checks, Ms Lane announced that 989 envelopes had been received. Following consultations with legal advisers, Mr Patrick McCarthy SC and Mr Eamon Galligan BL, she announced that 11 of them did not contain the required label and must be marked rejected under the relevant provision of the 1947 Seanad Electoral Act.
Four other sets of ballots were also turned down. In one, a declaration form had not been accompanied by a ballot paper. Two declarations of identity had not been completed, and in another instance, all five ballot papers had not been received in an envelope.