WOULD-BE PRESIDENTIAL candidate David Norris will hold an appearance at the gates of Leinster House today to showcase support for his Presidential candidacy.
Senator Norris, who is battling to secure a nomination for the campaign, will reveal at 10am which members of the Oireachtas have pledged to back his run for Áras an Uachtaráin. He needs the support of 20 Oireachtas members or four local councils to get his name on the ballot paper.
So far eight representatives have publicly stated they will support Sen Norris, according to the Irish Times. Among them are his fellow Independent Senator John Crown and a number of Independent TDs including Stephen Donnelly, Mick Wallace and Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan. It has also been suggested that some Fianna Fáil deputies could offer their backing.
Despite topping a series of opinion polls among Presidential candidates – including an Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI survey yesterday – Sen Norris has struggled to secure support from local councils. So far, only Fingal have voted to back his bid.
His efforts have been hampered by Fine Gael, who have prevented party councillors from backing any independent candidates. Fine Gael councillors, who hold a majority on many councils, have abstained from votes on whose nomination to support.
However, Fine Gael Presidential candidate Gay Mitchell last night appeared to reject his party’s efforts to keep Sen Norris off the ballot. Mr Mitchell told RTÉ he was a democrat and believed anybody who wanted to should be allowed to enter the race.
Sen Norris has said he will use the summer recess to lobby Oireachtas members for support.
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