THE GOVERNMENT has been sharply criticised by the Union of Students in Ireland for holding the Donegal South West byelection on a Thursday.
The byelection is scheduled for November 25th and USI said many citizens who work or attend college outside the constituency will be unable to make it home in time to cast their vote. “USI is calling on the Government to begin holding elections on a Saturday, as is common across Europe,” the group said in a statement.
USI president Gary Redmond said: “There is only a 48-hour window after an election is called for students to register for a postal vote. This is too short and requires an immediate change in legislation. Schools and other public buildings will also have to close on Thursday 25th, causing huge disruption to the general public.”
He said large numbers of students planned to vote “to show their concern at the registration fee, grants and graduate unemployment and this is impossible for them to do midweek”.
“All elections should be held on Saturday, as is common across the rest of the Continent,” Mr Redmond added.
Sinn Féin’s candidate in the byelection, Senator Pearse Doherty said: “We had 40,000 students protesting outside the gates of Leinster House – the Government knows the students are angry over the increase in registration fees that is on the table.
“Students, if they are given the opportunity to vote, will not vote for the Government. This is a blatant attempt at disenfranchising students in Donegal South West.”
Fianna Fáil candidate Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill said: “I would have preferred to have an election on a Friday or Saturday.”
This was “unfortunate” and he said he hoped that in future consideration would be given to holding elections on those days.
The Fine Gael candidate is Cllr Barry O’Neill, Cllr Frank McBrearty is running for Labour and Cllr Thomas Pringle is an Independent candidate.
Meanwhile, Ann Sweeney said yesterday she would run in the Donegal South West byelection for her New Island Party, an organisation that aims to be a panel for Independent politicians.
The 53-year-old mother of three teenagers came to public attention in 2008 when alcohol was seized from her newly opened hotel in Dunfanaghy. She continued to operate the hotel without alcohol for 10 weeks and the courts eventually ruled in her favour.
She subsequently established her political party and said she decided to be its first election contestant after she saw four of the other candidates on Vincent Browne’s TV3 programme on Monday. She said: “I had been thinking about running but when I saw those four that made my mind up. None of them knew what they were talking about. I thought the world was gone mad.”