Polling card iregularity in Irish General election

[Tubetec]

Seems an issue has arisen whereby many voters,including myself ,  havent recieved a polling card , normally you present it when you go to vote , news outlets seek to assure the public they will still be able to vote .

The latest opinion polls show a huge rise in support for Sinn Fein which represents one wing of Irish republicanism ,
their dead level with their old adversary FineFail with around 24% apiece, leaving the outgoing party with around 20%.
A seismic shift is the only words for it , theres a huge sense rural Ireland feels swept aside by an overwhelmingly Dublin centric cabinet , brexit uncertainty as well as a serious breakdowns in law and order in border counties have been a catalyst for the shifting of the sands. Lately in the media stories of the total failure of this government to tackle a health system thats flying apart has marked the lines in chalk  around this administration by the looks of it.

 

[Tubetec]

Its election day here today ,
I finally got a polling card two days ago .
In my case I vote in the usual place , but many who's electoral boundaries have changed have had to wait to find out exactly where their local voting station  is ,finding out two days before voting day most likely impacts on the old and rural voters the most, and those who need to make special transportation arrangements in order to get to the voting station.

The weather is also conspiring to play its part ,as the entire  south and west coast takes a hammering from the wind , again favouring the urbanite voter.  I'm walking down to vote soon , looks like  50-60kph at least ,  with short term bursts well above .
Too close to speculate anymore  at this stage as neither of the three parties will hold a clear majority or mandate afterwards .

 

 

[fazer]

So not only do they screw with the voting cards,  they fix the weather too.  Crooked politics.

 

[Tubetec]

Voter turnout was fairly strong in the end despite the weather , people were determined to have their say.
The public clearly demonstrated its displeasure with the out going government , party leader and prime minister came in second a long margin back from the Sinn Fein candidate in his Dublin West constituency , a spectacular own goal ,an imbarressment and wake up call.
In rural places up towards the border or in the western extremities of the country the  newly elected Sinn Fein candidates were welcomed with rebel songs from the crowd. 
All goes to show ,if you maintain a propped up ,minority government who doesnt listen to the people for too long  ,you'll end up with a back lash .

Just for devilment I did casually mention to a few  chat friends from the US ,'the guys you sent the Barrett 50 cal rifles too are in the lead  now ' : :-[ :-\  , even the gun nuts didnt quite know what to say to that  ;D