JIM GAVIN MAY have pulled out of the campaign, but he is still a candidate in the presidential election, whether he likes it or not.

The announcement of his shock withdrawal, which came after it emerged he had owed a former tenant more than €3,000 since 2009, came too late in the day for Gavin to be replaced. The 24 September deadline had passed and the ballots had already been printed.

That means Fianna Fáil’s zombie candidate remains in the race, at least on paper. 

So what happens if you cast your vote for Gavin? 

The Electoral Commission has confirmed that “all three candidates have been included on the ballot paper,” which means people can cast their votes for independent candidate Catherine Connolly, Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys or Jim Gavin.

The counting of votes will proceed as normal, the presidential returning officer has said, “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 be distributed as if he was a normal candidate. 

But of course Gavin is not a normal candidate. He doesn’t want the job. 

Art O’Leary, the head of the Electoral Commission, told The Journal that characterising Gavin as a “zombie candidate” is not entirely accurate though.  

“He is on the ballot paper because he wasn’t in a position to withdraw from the election,” O’Leary said, “he just indicated that he was withdrawing from the campaign”. 

Every vote for any candidate on the ballot paper is a valid vote.

“And if this candidate comes third and there is a second count, then all the number two preferences will be counted in the normal way.”

Even though Gavin has withdrawn from the race, there is one reason Fianna Fáil supporters might want to vote for him anyway: to get a refund of his campaign expenses. 

In order to claim up to €250,000 back, Gavin would need to get a quarter of a quota at any stage of the count. In this election, that means 12.5% of the vote because the quota will be 50% plus one. 

Another reason some people might want to vote for Gavin is to actually see him win, in which case he would presumably decline the role and therefore trigger a fresh election.  

“Any candidate who wins the election always has two choices,” O’Leary said.

“They can take up the role of president, or they can indicate that they will decline to take up the role.

“If they do that, then a fresh election is called.” 

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, who supported Maria Steen’s unsuccessful attempt to get on the ballot, has sought to discourage people from voting for Gavin in an attempt to force a re-run.

He said that to do so would basically mean “writing a cheque to Fianna Fáil to cover their election expenses” and he also expressed some doubt that the party would actually decline the role if Gavin won. 

If he did somehow win, a re-run would have to take place within 60 days.

With the election set for 24 October, just in case you thought things couldn’t get any stranger, it would mean going to the polls on the day before Christmas Eve.