AN UNSUCCESSFUL GENERAL Election candidate has told the High Court that she is seeking to set aside the result in Kerry and wants sight of the register of electors after claiming she witnessed ballots being “torn out” of boxes at a polling station on election night.

Michelle Keane, of Talbot Bridge, Knocknagoshel, ran as an Independent candidate in Kerry in November and claims to have seen ballots removed from boxes in front of her. She is seeking an order from the court to have the marked register of electors, which shows who voted, released to her and to halt the destruction of election documents.

Ms Keane received over 1,500 first preference votes in the General Election but lost out on the ninth court before Independents Michael and Danny Healy Rae, Sinn Fein’s Pa Daly and Fianna Fail’s Norma Foley were elected.

At the High Court today, Ms Keane submitted an ex parte application – where only one side is represented – naming the Clerk of the Dail, the Irish Government and Returning Officer Padraig Burke as respondents.

Ms Keane told Mr Justice Garret Simons that she was seeking documents “in the public interest and for democratic transparency and accountability and electoral fairness” under Section 130 and 131 of the Electoral Act 1992.

The appellant is also seeking to compel the respondents to release a statement of explanation as to what happened with ballot papers Ms Keane claims were “tore out right in front of me on the night of 29 November, 2024, when I attended the polling station”.

Mr Justice Simons said any petition against an election should have been initiated within 28 days of the polling day and it was now over three months after the election.

Ms Keane said she was being “fobbed off” by officials in her efforts and said that six months after the election, documents sought by her can be destroyed.

She told Mr Justice Simons that people had told her they had voted for her and she “needed the marked register to cross check” the election because “people have a right to know where their vote went”. “We live in a democracy,” she added.

“I physically saw a presiding officer tear out the ballots and I made a formal statement to gardaí and that is still under investigation,” she said.

Mr Justice Simons asked if Ms Keane was seeking to set aside the election result in Kerry and was told that it was one of the aspects of her application.

In her affidavit, Ms Keane claims she was in the Toureencahill polling station at around 8.45pm on the night when she witnessed two election staff “tearing out ballot papers from the ballot box” and that she was the only other person in the room when this happened.

Ms Keane submits that under the Electoral Act 1992, that “after an election, the marked registrar showing who voted is available for inspection by certain individuals or entities”.

Ms Keane submits that political parties and candidates have the right to inspect the register to check voter turnout or investigate the election’s integrity.

Mr Justice Simons said he would deliver his judgment in the case on Tuesday.

On 11 December, Ms Keane was jailed at Listowel Circuit Civil Court for refusing to comply with an injunction order that she not post online about Listowel Garda Sergeant Melanie Walsh.

In July, Ms Keane was ordered by Ennis Circuit Civil Court to remove all online social media posts about the sergeant.

The injunction also ordered Ms Keane or any other party acting with her from making future statements about Sgt Walsh online.

Although the sergeant’s name was not used in a November 28 post, the garda was identifiable, it was alleged.

Ms Keane had submitted in an affidavit that she was not in breach of any court order.

The mother-of-two was released by Killarney Circuit Civil Court in December 13 after signing an undertaking to desist with online postings about the sergeant.