December dates for new leaders
IFA’s successor to John Dillon will take up office at the Association’s AGM on January 17, while the new ICMSA leader to succeed Pat O’Rourke will take up office immediately after election.
IFA members will go to the polls at 946 centres between December 1 and December 16.
For the first time, branch votes will be weighted according to the number of farmers voting at each branch meeting. Under the revised IFA election rules, a branch will have one vote, if at least eight members cast their ballot. There will be two votes, where 26 to 50 members vote; three votes where 51 to 75 votes are cast; and four votes for a branch ballot of more than 75 members.
Previously each branch was worth one vote to the candidate receiving the majority of the votes cast on the night. The majority candidate will now receive up to four votes, depending on the number of farmers making their choice at the branch poll.
The candidates, Ruaidhri Deasy (North Tipperary), Raymond O’Malley (Louth) and Padraig Walshe (Laois) have been campaigning for several months. The contest now moves up a gear for the final weeks, with the emphasis on urging all members of each branch to come out and cast their ballot, in order to maximise the vote. They will take part in a series of debates around the country this month, giving IFA‘s membership of 85,000 the opportunity to hear what each has to offer.
