Candidate considers court action after own mistake

A LOCAL election candidate who mistakenly registered to stand for election in the wrong area is considering taking a High Court challenge.

Independent Cork City councillor Annette Spillane, said last night that having reviewed her nomination papers, she accepts the mistake was hers.

Ms Spillane – who has held a seat in the city’s north east ward since 2004 – discovered on Monday that she has been mistakenly registered to contest the June 5 election in the neighbouring north central ward.

She apparently filled in the name of the Dáil constituency in which her ward is located – Cork North Central – in the area where she should have written the name of the ward in which she wanted to stand for election.

A statement from the city council held out little hope of the situation changing.

The statement read: “Fifty nine nomination forms for the local elections for Cork City Council, across six local electoral areas, were submitted and validated during the period for receipt of nominations.

“Responsibility lies with the candidate, or his/her proposer, to deliver all documentation to the returning officer by the deadline for receipt of nominations.

“Only fully completed nomination forms are validated by the returning officer.”

However, Ms Spillane said that if city officials refuse to back down and, following consultation with her supporters, she is considering taking her case all the way to the High Court.

But with just over two weeks to go to polling day, Ms Spillane accepts that she may have no other option but to stand in the north central ward.

“I have taken legal advice on this from a solicitor who is a constitutional expert and I have an option to challenge this under the Local Government Act 2001,” she said.

“I’m heartbroken. This was a genuine mistake but I feel I am being treated very unfairly.”

Ms Spillane handed in her nomination papers to the council’s returning office on May 9.

The mistake was brought to her attention on Monday morning – after Saturday’s deadline for the submission of nomination papers.

Ms Spillane said she could not understand why city officials had not noticed, or raised with her before Saturday’s deadline, the fact that she had filled in a different ward.

Veteran councillor Máirín Quill, who is supporting her ward colleague, said something must be done to help Ms Spillane stand in the ward where she holds her seat.

“It is incredible that people who made financial decisions that have pauperised a generation can walk away while a genuine candidate, like Annette Spillane, suffers like this because of a simple clerical error,” she said.