Tipperary councillor condemns parties attempt to block Independent presidential candidates

A Tipperary County Councillor has spoken out against the recent decision by one political party to ban it's councillors from supporting any Independent presidential candidates in the upcoming presidential election next month. 

Speaking about the issue this weekend, Cllr Liam Browne said: "As an elected representative on Tipperary County Council, I am deeply dismayed by Taoiseach Simon Harris’s directive banning Fine Gael councillors from supporting Independent candidates seeking nomination for the Presidency (as reported in today Irish Independent). This move is not only anti-democratic, but also a blatant attempt to control and restrict the people’s choice.

"Under our Constitution, candidates may be nominated either by 20 members of the Oireachtas or by four local authorities. The council route was deliberately included by the authors of the Constitution to ensure that voices outside the party system could have a fair chance to contest the Presidency. They did not expect political parties to disrespect that intention by actively obstructing the process.

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"This is a direct attack on the principle of local representation. Councillors are elected to serve their communities, not to act as rubber stamps for party headquarters. The idea that councillors should be forbidden from even considering support for Independent candidates is an insult to the intelligence and independence of local government.

"What’s even more surprising, and disappointing, is that Sinn Féin, a party that has spent years condemning the Establishment politics of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, now appears to be considering a similar stance. So much for Sinn Féin being different. Over the past few years, I’ve watched Sinn Féin rail against the old parties in public, only to quietly adopt their tactics when it suits them. When it comes to hard decisions, they seem more and more like the very parties they claim to oppose.

"I remember canvassing as an Independent in rural Tipperary, where people told me they were tired of party politics and wanted representatives who would speak for them, not toe the party line in Dublin.
That’s why I ran. And that’s why I’m speaking out now.

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"Fine Gael’s position undermines the very foundation of our democracy. It sends a message that only party-approved candidates are welcome, and that alternative voices, no matter how credible or popular, should be silenced.

"I call on councillors across all parties and none to reject this directive. Let us uphold the democratic values we were elected to protect. The Presidency belongs to the people of Ireland, and they deserve a full and fair choice, not one dictated by party politics.

"Let the people decide," concluded the Independent Cashel-based councillor.