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FOUR CANDIDATES, INCLUDING Maria Steen, will today make pitches to a caucus of 11 TDs and senators who have yet to back any presidential candidate.
Following the presentations, a vote will be held on the basis of proportional representation (PR–STV) with a single transferable vote.
TDs and senators will then be asked to nominate the person who wins that vote.
Áontu leader Peadar Toíbín, who has organised the process, told The Journal that it’s not obligatory for the TDs and senators to nominate the winner of the vote.
“They can still, if they really feel the need to, pull out at that stage. But we’re going into this on the basis of goodwill and we hope people will respond to that,” he said.
“The purpose of that is to give a momentum to one of those four candidates and also then to help put pressure on those independents who are sitting in the shadows or on the fence”, who have yet to sign the nomination papers for a candidate, he added.
Keeping his cards close to his chest, Toíbín would not reveal who was scheduled to make presentations to the caucus today, but it is understood that Steen, a former barrister and architect, is one of them.
Steen is a member of Catholic advocacy group the Iona Institute and would be best known for campaigning against the 2013 Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act, the 2015 same-sex marriage referendum and the 2018 referendum on the Eighth Amendment.
Áontu previously confirmed that it would support Steen’s run in the presidential election.
If a candidate comes through the process today and gets 11 Oireachtas member nominations, Toíbín said the aim is to appeal to other Independent TDs and senators to give their backing to the candidate, to bring the number to 20.
However, even through this uphill process, there is only a slim chance that Steen or another candidate will get on the ballot paper this way.
If three Independent Ireland members and a scattering of other like-minded Oireachtas members were to sign the nomination papers, on top of the backing of the 11 caucus members meeting today, it might be achievable. But it is seen as a long-shot.
“I think that the current makeup, as it stands, is a very one dimensional presidential debate. You’ve got two establishment government candidates and a strongly left candidate.
“I think that if the debate happens on that basis, there’s just so many other dimensions of Irish life left out. There’s so many other voices that are not going to be in the race and not going to be able to have their values put forward,” Toíbín told The Journal.
He said a lot of the Independent TDs are sitting on the sidelines and are not making a decision, adding that it is getting late in the day.
There are two ways in which a potential candidate can secure their spot on the ballot that will be presented at polling stations on 24 October.
A candidate can secure at least 20 Oireachtas members’ backing, the standard way in for candidates from bigger parties, or by securing the nomination of four councils across the country.
A number of Independent candidates are vying to get on the ballot, with many making their pitches to local councils this week and next.
A spokesperson for independent Gareth Sheridan confirmed that the businessman will not be attending the caucus event today.
They said Sheridan has always indicated his plan to pursue the local authority nomination process which is mandated for in the Constitution.
They added that the Sheridan team has targeted a number of councils and that they believe Sheridan has a pathway to the ballot through this route.
With Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael holding the most seats on the councils, and with the likes of Labour and the Social Democrats putting their support behind Catherine Connolly, the local council route to success is narrowing.
Fianna Fáil’s governing body decided on Tuesday that it would not impose a whip on its councillors but did request that they support the party’s candidate Jim Gavin.
Such a move leaves the option open to those councillors to allow another candidate go forward, either by nominating them or by abstaining in a vote.
Those on the Sheridan team said they were “very pleased” with that announcement by Fianna Fáil, adding that they hoped some Fianna Fáilers might see fit to allow Sheridan to proceed on to the ballot paper.
The argued that those in Fianna Fáil can draw the distinction between facilitating another candidate to get into the race over endorsing a candidate.
They added that Simon Harris’ diktat that councillors should block Independent candidates is ill-judged and is not going down well Fine Gael councillors.
Harris defended his party’s position to impose the whip on its councillors, telling the media yesterday that the overwhelming majority of Fine Gael councillors said they want to back Heather Humphreys and “don’t wish to back any other candidate”.
Micheál Martin said his party councillors have responded positively to the decision that the party will not impose a directive.
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