Norris says presidency ‘belongs to the people’

PRESIDENTIAL hopeful David Norris said “the will of the electorate” should prevail in his bid for a nomination to enter the race for the Áras.

The latest poll shows the independent senator is the people’s favourite for the presidency.

But he is yet to secure the backing of either 20 Oireachtas members or four local authorities required for independent candidates to have their name on the ballot paper.

A number of non-party TDs and Senators will show their support for him in a photo-opportunity outside the Dáil today. But they will fall short of the magic number needed to ensure he enters the race.

Fine Gael’s candidate Gay Mitchell said he would welcome Mr Norris’ inclusion: “As far as I’m concerned, they should let everybody who wants into the race. I’m a democrat,” he said.

An Ipsos/MRBI opinion poll published in the Irish Times shows Mr Norris has 25% support — four points ahead of his nearest rival, Mr Mitchell.

Labour’s Michael D Higgins is at 18% support while the two other independent candidates, Sean Gallagher and Mary Davis are at 13% and 12% respectively.

The results mean the race is wide open and the winner could be decided on transfers.

Mr Norris said yesterday the presidency “does not and should not belong to parties” and instead “belongs to the people”.

In an online column he said the rules should be changed for future races to reduce the number of oireachtas members needed to endorse a candidate down to ten, and to bring in a system of nomination through the signature of 10,000 citizens.

“While these measures would do little to address the logistical and financial imbalances faced by independent candidates, it would go some way toward facilitating the entry of more independent candidates in the race, releasing the exclusive grip of the parties on the office,” he said.