Sweeney ‘pulls out’ of Donegal by-election

THE by-election campaign of independent candidate Ann Sweeney will end in protest after she expressed her desire to withdraw.

She said that the announcement that a general election was imminent made tomorrow’s vote redundant.

“I am calling for the Donegal south west by-election to be postponed until December 16 and for that to coincide with the general election,” she said. Ms Sweeney can only withdraw in theory. Voting had already begun on the islands off Donegal on Monday. And the deadline for withdrawals by candidates passed on November 13. The by-election itself cannot be postponed.

This would only happen if the Dáil was dissolved, because at that stage there would be no seat to win.

At midnight last night the moratorium on broadcasting began and the remaining active candidates are spending today convincing voters not to stay at home because of the status of the election and the cold snap which has been forecast.

The Labour Party candidate in Donegal south west, Frank McBrearty, said the attention should be on the general election. He said Fianna Fáil’s candidate Brian O’Domhnaill represented a vote for instability.

“He’s a lame duck candidate and he should follow the lead of one of the other independent candidates in the contest and leave the field,” he said. However, Mr O’Domhnaill said calling a general election was not the right thing to do because seeing through the budget was the responsible decision for the country.

After two weeks of intense interest in the events in Donegal south-west the focus switched away from the county as soon as the Green Party announced its intention to withdraw from Government.

Whoever is elected looks set to become the shortest serving TD in the history of the Oireachtas. If the next election is held any time in January the winner will only hold the seat for a maximum of 61 days.