JIM GAVIN WILL appear on the presidential election ballot despite the Fianna Fáil candidate’s dramatic withdrawal from the race, the Presidential Returning Officer has confirmed. 

The returning officer said that legislation governing the withdrawal of candidacy “sets out that a person who has delivered their nomination paper to the Presidential Returning Officer may withdraw their candidature at any time before the completion of the ruling on nominations but not thereafter”.

“In accordance with section 20 of the 1993 Act, the ruling on nominations for the presidential election took place at 15.00 on Wednesday 24 September,” the returning officer said. 

It confirmed that “all three candidates have been included on the ballot paper,” meaning independent candidate Catherine Connolly, Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin.

Whether Gavin would appear on the ballot had been the subject of some speculation and the returning officer met with the attorney general yesterday to discuss the legal questions surrounding his inclusion. 

The counting of votes will proceed as normal, the returning officer said today, “in line with the rules for the counting of votes as set out in the 1993 Act”.

This means that votes for Gavin will be counted and transfers will distributed as if he was a normal candidate. 

Gavin made the shock announcement late on Sunday night to withdraw from the presidential election, saying that recent days “have given me cause to reflect.”

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His statement came hours after he failed to clarify reports on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics debate that he allegedly did not repay a tenant €3,300 in rent mistakenly paid over a decade ago. 

“I made a mistake that was not in keeping with my character and the standards I set myself,” Gavin said.

His withdrawal has caused turmoil in the Fianna Fáil party, with members of the parliamentary party expressing shock and outrage about the party leadership’s apparent failure to properly vet their candidate.