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What’s happened to Fine Gael’s pre-election promise on embassy voting?
By Noreen Bowden | May 20, 2011
Fine Gael’s pre-election promise regarding embassy voting in Presidential elections has apparently been forgotten.
On Wednesday, Sinn Fein TD Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin South Central) asked the following question:
The Taoiseach made a pre-election promise on political reform to give voting rights to the diaspora for the presidential election. Will the Government consider fast tracking legislation to afford a right to Irish citizens living in Ireland, but outside the 26 Counties, to participate in the election of the first citizen?
The response from Taoiseach Enda Kenny? Eight disappointing words:
“There is no legislation promised in this area.”
This despite the fact that in the 2011 general election, Fine Gael included this commitment in their manifesto:
Fine Gael will reduce the voting age to 17 and give eligible citizens the right to vote at Irish embassies in the Presidential election. If this experiment is deemed a success Fine Gael will consider extending this practice to general elections.
This commitment, while vague in its lack of specification as to who the “eligible citizens” were, was a clear signal of intent to allow voting rights for citizens abroad. Comments from politicians such as Simon Coveney seemed at the time to indicate that Fine Gael actually meant it.
The formulation of this commitment in the programme for government, however, was disappointing. In the programme, the government bounced the issue of embassy voting to the proposed Constitutional Convention, saying
We will refer to the Constitutional Convention the issue of reducing the Voting Age to 17 and giving citizens the right to vote at Irish embassies in the presidential election.
This despite the fact that there is currently no constitutional prohibition on voting rights for the Irish abroad.
Meanwhile, Ireland remains the only country in the EU with no option for emigrant voting, and the number of countries allowing their emigrants to vote continues to grow. Every week, it seems, brings news of another country committed to facilitating their expats to vote, with Haiti and Nigeria being among the latest to announce upcoming implementations of diaspora voting.
Topics: Latest News | 3 Comments »
May 23rd, 2011 at 10:54 am
In all honesty did anyone really expect the likes of a politician to deliver even on such a simple to implement commitment?
May 23rd, 2011 at 11:00 am
It seems he can neither remember the promise, even though it is recorded in their manifesto, nor is he aware that the constitution does not prohibit such a measure. Such are the people who currently stand for election, and amazingly get elected. Life in the Dáil, Seanad or whatever is infinitely preferable to working for a living. Ask any TD.
July 11th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
File the above under Roscommon Hospital pre – election Fine Gael promises. They have already thrown one of their own overboard , on the basis that even written and verbal pre-election are null and void once they are in power.