Polling in the Dublin South Central by-election closed at 9pm. Party activists estimated the turnout at around 30%, which is half the poll in the constituency at the general election two years ago. Less than 20% of the electorate had gone to the polls by 6.30pm this evening. Nine candidates are seeking the Dáil seat left vacant by the Labour deputy, Pat Upton. The sorting and counting of votes will begin at the RDS at 9am tomorrow.
More than 71,000 people were entitled to vote in the by-election, which is the fourth one of the current Dáil. At the general election, Fianna Fáil won two of the four seats in the constituency, the others were divided between Fine Gael and Labour. But next time around, Dublin South Central will become a five-seater and that has led to intensive campaigning by all candidates to firmly establish themselves in the minds of voters.
The nine candidates seeking the late Pat Upton's seat are: Michael Mulcahy of Fianna Fáil; Catherine Byrne of Fine Gael; Mary Upton of Labour; John Goodwillie, the Greens; Aengus O Snodaigh of Sinn Féin; Shay Kelly, the Workers Party; Manus McMenamin, Christian Solidarity Party; John Burn, Natural Law Party; and Eamon Murphy, independent.
In a separate development, a survey carried out by the National Youth Council shows that in the June local and European elections two-thirds of young people did not bother to vote. However, only a small number stayed away because of cynicism about politics.
