While all of the candidates have been elected for the Dublin Bay South constituency, there was still some panic in the RDS up until yesterday.
NewsFour was there for the emotional scenes as relief and joy swept over the Bríd Smith camp when the adjudicators’ decision was announced.
Smith, candidate for the Anti-Austerity Alliance – People Before Profit, beat Catherine Ardagh of Fianna Fáil to the fourth and final seat in the Dublin South-Central constituency by 35 votes, with a recount confirming that she had been elected. She made a lengthy statement in which she expressed a great amount of gratitude to all who have supported her.
Her supporters were overjoyed with the result, with many vivid displays of emotion to be seen. It had been a tense four-day race, with Smith finally coming out on top with a final vote count of 7,879.
Having been heavily involved in Ireland’s political landscape since 1997, this victory is a huge moment for Smith, who made several promises about changes she wishes to make. Over the years, she has been heavily outspoken about issues such as water and bin charges, property taxes, the Iraq war and the Lisbon Treaty.
She has been very critical of the Labour Party, declaring in her victory speech that they deserved to perform as poorly as they did in this election. She also stated the importance of keeping Fianna Fáil out in order to maintain the strong left-wing constituency.
By Kevin Carney