SINN FEIN has made
history by winning a seat in the Seanad for the
first time.
Donegal's Pearse Doherty, who failed to win a Dail
seat at the May general election, secured a seat on
the Agriculture Panel with the highest number of
first-preference votes. The result was achieved with
the help of a Sinn Fein pact with the Labour Party.
The local councillor romped home with 103 votes to
be returned on the first count.
Labour's Alan Kelly came home second after also
exceeding the quota.
Senator Doherty will now have to give up his seat on
Donegal County Council. He expects another Sinn Fein
member to be co-opted to the local authority by
September.
"As of now, I'm no longer a county councillor in
line with the rules of the dual mandate legislation.
Therefore, the party will have to meet over the
coming weeks to hold a convention where we will look
to see which candidates would be interested in
standing for the co-option position.
"That will be filled sometime in August or early
September," said the newly-elected Donegal senator. |
