Fine Gael to decide on Áras nominee today
Fine Gael will gather in north Dublin today to decide the party candidate, which will be decided by TDs, senators and MEPs (70%), councillors (20%) and the executive council (10%).
There are a total of 632 votes between parliamentarians, councillors and the executive council. The party is less one parliamentarian vote after the whip was removed from TD Denis Naughten.
Former European Parliament president Pat Cox and MEPs Gay Mitchell and Mairead McGuinness will all give 15-minute speeches. Candidate proposers will also speak beforehand.
Ballot papers are expected to be handed out at around 4.30pm, with the vote known after 5.30pm.
Party sources say the contest will be close and there is expected to be more than one count.
Mr Mitchell yesterday dismissed reports of an internal party poll which put him in last place.
“The parliamentary party, the executive council and the councillors, they want me to stand because I’m one of them, because I’m one of the people. I’m in touch with the people.
“If there are people there trying to pull strings and orchestrate, this is a democratic party, we’ll make a democratic decision and I have a very good idea what the result will be tomorrow. That’s the poll we’re running on right now.
“I don’t want to be cocky, but I’m relatively at ease with what I think will be the outcome and I’m quietly confident,” he told RTÉ.
Meanwhile, Ms McGuinness said: “My campaign was built from the ground up and I have worked extremely hard at all levels of the organisation to convince them that I am the candidate to win the presidency for Fine Gael.”
Mr Cox, who only joined the Fine Gael party recently, said the issue of his membership was “not an issue anymore”.
The party’s selection convention takes place in light of a new poll which shows 38% of people want to see Independent Senator David Norris as the next president.
Labour’s Michael D Higgins was in second with 10% of support, followed by Dragons’ Den star Sean Gallagher on 9% in the poll carried out for the Irish League of Credit Unions.
Fine Gael’s hopefuls Mr Cox and Ms McGuinness received 6% support while only 3% backed Mr Mitchell.
