Presidental nomination process ‘unfair’ say Kerry councillors in wake of Seán Kelly withdrawal
The KerrymanA Kerry councillor has branded the process for nominating presidential candidates “completely unfair” as the race for head of state heats up.
MEP and Kerry native Seán Kelly withdrew from the Fine Gael contest over a lack of support from within the parliamentary party and some county councillors in Kerry feel let down by his treatment in Dublin.
Fine Gael councillor Tommy Griffin, who supported Kelly publicly and lobbied Leinster House to have him nominated, said the process needs to be overhauled.
“You could be the most popular by the membership and by the councillors, but it still wouldn’t be enough to get you over the line,” he said.
“It’s become completely unfair; the membership has more of a say than the councillors. Its weighted poorly and the parliamentary party really make the decisions.
“The process has to be looked at, there’s no denying it.”
While nominees need the support of four local authorities, they also must secure endorsement of 20 members of the Oireachtas to be eligible for the post.
As the main parties usually floor only one candidate, any contest between prospective candidates within the same party is mostly decided by parliamentary members.
For example, in the 2011 presidential election, Fine Gael selected its nominee from an electoral college consisting of parliamentary members (70 per cent of the vote), county and city councillors with 20 per cent of the vote and the final 10 per cent coming from the 12-member executive council.
In a statement on Monday, Mr Kelly said he had been “strongly encouraged” by grassroots members and local representatives of Fine Gael to run for president, but that he had decided his campaign had hit an impasse after receiving only 12 parliamentary votes.
His decision to drop out meant that Fine Gael could confirm former minister and deputy party leader Heather Humphreys as the party’s candidate for the presidency.
“Obviously, former minister Heather Humphries had a distinct advantage because she’d worked with all the TDs for many years and she would have delivered for them too,” Cllr Griffin said.
“She was a very, very effective TD and minister and I can fully understand where her support came from in the parliamentary party.
“It’s just disappointing, and I got that from our members in the county. They were very disappointed that there wasn’t at least a contest.”
Fine Gael councillor Teddy O’Sullivan Casey also expressed his frustration at the lack of an open race between his party’s top picks.
“We were very disappointed that Seán Kelly didn’t get a chance to go further. We were hoping there would be a contest,” he said.
“He’s been an excellent MEP and he would have been an excellent president, and it would have even better given he’s a Kerry man”
Fianna Fáil’s leading candidate is currently former Dublin football boss Jim Gavin who has garnered the support of 22 members of the party, including Taoiseach and party leader Micheál Martin and all senior cabinet ministers.
Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher is also vying for the party’s backing, but similar number concerns raised by Sean Kelly’s bid, surround his own.Independent councillor Dan McCarthy said: “I think Billy Kelleher would make an excellent president. But I think the same thing is going to happen to him that happened to Seán Kelly.
“I can’t understand Jim Gavin, he might be a great man but I can’t understand why or how. He’s been floated in. He’s been brought in from the top.”
Fianna Fáil will single out their candidate in a secret ballot on Tuesday, in which all 71 parliamentary party members are expected to vote. No local councillors will be involved in the process.