Politics

No change to those elected after recount of 2014 Kerry ballots

Margin of defeat for Dan Kiely, who took legal challenge to result, doubles to four votes

The recounting of votes from the Listowel electoral area in the 2014 local election has concluded in Tralee. Photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times.
The recounting of votes from the Listowel electoral area in the 2014 local election has concluded in Tralee. Photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times.
Anne Lucey
Fri Feb 12 2016 - 07:34

The recounting of votes from the Listowel electoral area in the 2014 local election has concluded in Tralee.

The count afresh of some 15,000 ballots, the validity of a number of which was questioned and ruled on by a Circuit Court judge, resulted in no change to the make up of the seven councillors elected for the municipal district.

Defeated candidate Dan Kiely (Independent), who had lost out by two votes in 2014 and brought a legal challenge to the result which led to the recount, fell four votes short of a seat this time. There had been two votes between him and Fine Gael's Cllr Mike Kennelly in 2014.

Mr Kennelly finished six votes ahead of Mr Kiely on this occassion.

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Mayor of Listowel Jimmy Moloney, a Fianna Fáil councillor, beat Mr Kiely by just five votes on the previous occasion and now ended up four votes ahead of him after the count afresh.

Both Mr Moloney and Mr Kennelly were elected.

Charlie O'Sullivan, returning officer, will go to the Circuit Court in Limerick on Friday to have the result approved by Judge Thomas E O'Donnell who was assigned a supervisory role by the Supreme Court.