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U.TV, UK
July 15,
2003
Summary: The Sinn Fein party
is advocating that the Irish Senate (the Seanad) be directly elected
by universal suffrage.
U.TV, UK
Sinn Fein in
plea over Senate elections
July 15, 2003 People in Northern
Ireland and emigrants registered with Irish embassies should be
given the right to vote for the Republic's Senators, Sinn Fein has
claimed. By:Press Association Following the launch of his party`s
submission to the Oireachtas sub-committee on Seanad reform in
Dublin, Sinn Fein vice president Pat Doherty said citizens on both
sides of the Irish border over the age of 16 should be allowed to
elect Senators. ``Sinn Fˆöin believes that there is a need for the
complete overhaul of the Seanad to make it democratic, accountable
and relevant,`` the West Tyrone MP said. ``We propose that it is
transformed in terms of its membership, its electorate and what it
is responsible for. ``We believe that the Seanad should be elected
by universal suffrage of citizens of all the 32 counties of Ireland
and those resident here for more than five years who are over the
age of 16 years. ``Pending the reintegration of the national
territory citizens resident in the Six Counties (Northern Ireland)
would cast their ballot by postal vote. Emigrants registered with
their appropriate Irish Embassy or consulate would be entitled to
vote.`` Under the current system, the election for the Seanad takes
place not later than 90 days after the dissolution of the Dˆüil. The
voting system used is proportional representation by secret postal
ballot. Forty-three members of the Seanad are elected from panels
of candidates, covering five sectors - administrative, agriculture,
culture and education, industry and commerce and labour. The
electorate comprises of TDs, outgoing Senators and members of every
council of a county or county borough. A separate election is held
for each of the five panels. The universities elect six Senators
while the Taoiseach also has 11 nominees. Last week, the
nationalist SDLP said while the direct election of Senators would be
preferable, it could prove difficult to operate in Northern Ireland.
The party proposed that Northern Ireland MPs, councillors and
Assembly members should form an electoral college which would cast
postal votes in Seanad elections. Sinn Fein argued in its
submission to the Oireachtas that the main function of the Seanad
should be to scrutinise national and EU legislation. Mr Doherty
argued: ``Senators should be elected from sectoral panels rather
than on a party political basis, with these panels representing the
community and voluntary sector, culture and education, regional,
industrial and commercial and agriculture and fisheries. ``In order
to address the under-representation of women, quotas of at least 30%
should operate across each panel. ``Now is the time to overhaul the
Seanad as the second house of the Oireachtas. ``It is time that it
is elected by people from across the island and it is time for its
members to be truly representative of the entire country and not
elites within it.`` |
