By-election ruling - Welcome end to shoddy charade

THERE is a tendency among tottering regimes to cling to power at any cost – a brand of political arrogance usually associated with less than constitutional ‘banana republics’.

For the past year and more, Ireland has been cast in this dubious role by the unacceptably long delay by a highly unpopular administration to move the writ for the by-election in Donegal South West.

Indeed, were it not for yesterday’s common sense ruling from the president of the High Court, this teetering Government would have shamelessly continued to hold the line in the face of mounting criticism.

The forthright judgment of Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns has brought clarity to this controversy. He described the 17-month delay as unreasonable, the longest in the history of the state, representing a significant proportion of the five-year Dáil term.

Far from the court tearing asunder the provisions of the Constitution (concerning the separation of powers), as claimed by the state, he argued it was the ongoing failure to call the by-election which offended the terms and spirit of the Constitution and its framework for democratic representation. He went on to say the court could intervene in a more draconian way in extreme cases to protect constitutional obligations.

This leaves the Government no choice but to grant the people of Donegal South West the constitutional rights being denied by a regime clinging desperately to power because many seats will be swept away in the electoral tsunami bearing down upon them.

This is a courageous High Court ruling, handed down without fear or favour. It leaves no room for doubt as to the unreasonable nature of the Government’s delay in moving the writ. Coming down squarely in favour of the Sinn Féin candidate, Pearse Doherty, who had sought a declaration on the matter, the judge also concluded that the delay amounted to a breach of his constitutional rights. Effectively, he has been handed an electoral advantage on a plate, a political error of judgment by Fianna Fáil that the party may yet rue.

The Government’s stubborn refusal to hold the by-election in the seat, vacant since the resignation of Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher in June last year, has resulted in a resounding legal victory for Sinn Féin. If this triumph were repeated in the ballot box, the coalition’s slender Dáil majority would be whittled to a razor’s edge. In all, the Government faces four by-elections, one in Dublin, another in Waterford, and now two in Donegal where the sudden resignation of Jim McDaid has thrown the cat among the political pigeons.

The High Court ruling sparked the Greens to issue an instant call for the by-election to go ahead. The dilemma confronting ministers last evening was whether to go ahead with the Donegal by-election, widely anticipated before Christmas after next month’s budget, and/or to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court on a point of law, a stalling tactic likely to further anger voters and the courts.

Throughout this whole affair, the electorate has been subjected to a shoddy charade by the coalition. To postpone the evil day, it has advanced spurious arguments that an election would further destabilise the system and deepen the crisis already gripping the country. How much more unstable or deeper can it get?