DUBLIN, May 22 (RIA Novosti), Mark Hirst – Independent and Sinn Fein candidates are expected to make big gains in the European elections in the Republic of Ireland today as Irish voters head to the polls.
The recent arrest and detention of IRA-affiliated Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams do not appear to have dented the party’s chances, according to recent public surveys. A strong showing for Sinn Fein in the elections could strengthen Adams' call for greater focus on resolving the current crisis in the peace process.
According to opinion pollster Millward Brown, Sinn Fein could win three of the Republic of Ireland’s 11 available MEP seats, with former IRA member Martina Anderson expected to retake her seat in the British-administered north of Ireland, bringing the Sinn Fein total across the country to four.
Anderson told RIA Novosti that she believed Sinn Fein could secure its biggest European election win in the party’s history. “We are the only national party standing up for the ordinary people of Ireland, opposing austerity and the cozy conservative consensus in Ireland and in Europe,” she said.
Elsewhere, pro-cannabis campaigner Luke Flanagan, who is already an independent member of the Irish parliament, is predicted to secure a seat in the European Parliament.
Flanagan gained prominence in Ireland after highlighting police corruption, but the 42-year-old politician remains committed to legalizing cannabis use in Ireland, a policy that many traditional voters vehemently oppose.
The Labor Party and Fianna Fail, Ireland’s oldest political party, are both expected to suffer big losses when results are announced, despite their success in 2009, when the two parties combined won over half of the available MEP seats.
