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COUNTING WILL BEGIN this morning in a Monaghan electoral area after the election was postponed following the death of a candidate.
The Ballybay-Clones election was suspended after sitting councillor Owen Bannigan suffered a suspected heart attack while canvassing and died on the day of the election last month.
The father-of-five had represented the Castleblayney area since 1999.
A total of eleven candidates are now running in the election, including Bannigan’s son Eugene on the Fine Gael ticket.
After their previously cast votes were destroyed by election officials, locals took to the polls again yesterday between 8am and 10am.
Counting will be begin at 8.30am and is expected to have finished by 3pm.
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I don’t want to disrespect the deceased. Could someone explain why the original vote didn’t go ahead last week (with deceased on ballot paper). If he had posthumously won the seat I would have thought there is a substitute or replacement options for councils? I doubt this is the first time a council member had died in service.
Anyone know why they decided to halt the election completely?
It is set down in law if a member dies during voting time (up to 10.00pm close time) the election must be stopped and re-run.
Thanks Gracie!
Here is the First casualty of the local elections, http://www.mullingarshowcase.com/#!Chris-Murtagh-To-Resign-from-FG-Party-/c14sh/7684368D-7399-4BA5-8A61-DD1A6570BD52
An unelected person the first casualty? I’m putting down my phone now so I can have a good laugh.
Very low turnout. Who knows what way it will go.
More corpse surfing by Fine Gael, they are making an art form of it at this stage.
have your say