National Count for IFA Elections yo Take Place Next Tuesday
IFA National Returning Officer Jer Bergin has announced that the National Count to elect the 15thPresident of the Irish Farmers Association will take place in the Castleknock Hotel in Dublin on Tuesdaynext (April 19th).
As the 947 branches conclude their meetings and members have cast their votes to elect a new President and a new Deputy President, the counting of votes will begin next Tuesday at 9am. The nine County Executives in Munster have also met to elect a new Regional Chairman.
Jer Bergin said he was very satisfied with the turnout reported around the country, given the timing of the election. He said, “There are a number of factors affecting turnout: the shorter-than-usual lead-in to voting, coinciding with the busiest time on farms in a late spring, which has impacted on work on farms. Given all this, our voluntary officers who were charged with acting as Branch Returning Officers have done an exceptional job in overseeing the voting process”.
The new President will take up office immediately on election. The IFA Annual General Meeting will take place on Wed, 27th April.
Three candidates are running in the Presidential race. They are Henry Burns (Laois), Joe Healy (Galway) and Flor McCarthy (Kerry).
There are three candidates for Deputy President. They are Pat Farrell (Kildare), Richard Kennedy (Limerick) and Nigel Renaghan (Monaghan).
Two candidates are running for the position of Munster Regional Chairman. They are John Coughlan (Cork North) and John O’Brien (Cork Central).
The results will be input on the IFA National Count computer system and relayed on monitors in the Count Centre.The inputting process includes independent cross-checking of the recording of results.
Live updated results will be available online throughout the day at www.ifa.ie and on Twitter by following @IFAMedia or #IFAElection.
Note on Election Process:
Outline of IFA “One member, one vote” Voting System for President & Deputy President
Under IFA Rules, all National Elections are conducted under Proportional Representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
Each member has one (1) vote at his branch meeting to express his preference, voting 1, 2, 3.
These rules and procedures are modelled on the rules for Dáil, European and President of Ireland elections, as laid down in the Electoral Act 1992, adapted for use under IFA conditions.
The counting of votes will be conducted in an open manner in view of candidates’ supporters and members.
First Count
The first count is the count of the members’ ballots in all branches. The result of the first count in each branch at any table will be declared before moving on to count the next branch. When the first count of all branches nationally is complete, the National First Count Result will be declared by the National Returning Officer.
Quota
The Quota to win the election is 50%+1 of the total valid poll nationally.
Second Count: If no candidate reaches the Quota on the first count, a second count will take place by eliminating the lowest candidate and transferring his votes to the remaining candidates according to the second preferences. The candidate with the highest number of votes at the end of the second count will be declared the winner.
Outline of IFA Voting System for Regional Chairman
Under IFA Rules, all National Elections are conducted under Proportional Representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
However, as this year’s election for Munster Chairman involves only two candidates, the contest effectively becomes a case of ‘first past the post’, where there is only one count and the candidate with the most votes is the winner.
These rules and procedures are modelled on the rules for Dáil, European and President of Ireland elections, as laid down in the Electoral Act 1992, adapted for use under IFA conditions.
- The Regional Chairman is elected by the members of the County Executives within the Region, with each member having one (1) vote to express his choice.
- However at the National Count, the Branch Delegates’ ballots are weighted – while maintaining ballot secrecy – to reflect the number of members who voted in their Branch, the total poll (TP), in the Presidential election.
Less than 8 votes = 0
8 (quorum for voting) to 25 members = 1 vote
26 – 50 members = 2 votes, and
Each additional 25 members = an extra vote.