Laois Sinn Féin in limbo as party HQ stalled on Brian Stanley replacement for General Election
Laois Sinn Féin has no list of names or names to contest General Election
Sinn Féin members in Laois don't a name or list of names yet to attempt to retain the seat for the party at the General Election in the wake the resignation of former SF TD Brian Stanley.
As more revelations emerge about the circumstances that culminated in his resignation, the Leinster Expess / Laois Live has been told that there is no list drafted to pick a possible replacement for Dep Stanley.
The absence of names emerged on Friday, October 24 when Sinn Féin members in Laois said there was no update from the party on the selection process almost two weeks after Dep Stanley resigned.
A Sinn Féin member in the Portlaoise area told the Leinster Express / Laois Live of the hope that there would be progress in the week ahead. Members met in the week immediately after Dep Stanley resigned and the message at the time was the party HQ were accelerating the process of candidate selection in Laois.
Pictured is the Sinn Féin team ahead of the local elections 2024.
“We were pleasantly surprised with the calibre of anybody who has made an expression of interest and would be a very viable candidate to win the seat,” said a source.
The paper also reported that a convention would take place in the week ahead though a date had not been scheduled. The members contacted by the Leinster Express / Laois Live made no reference to the holding of a convention.
The Leinster Express / Laois Live sought clarity from the Sinn Féin Director of Elections Matt Carthy but he has yet to reply.
One person who has ruled herself out is Sinn Féin's only elected public representative in Laois Caroline Dwane Stanley. She told the the Leinster Express Laois Live that she would definitely not running. The party nominated her for a second term to the EU Council of the Regions last week. The nomination was confirmed by Government.
It is not clear what Brian Stanley intends to do. Despite multiple queries from the Leinster Express / Laois Live, he has so far refused to declare his intentions. His constituency office is open but with the Sinn Féin signs stripped away. He has said he is now representing the constituency as an indpendent Republican.