Sinn Fein may challenge result

Galway count row: Sinn Féin is considering taking legal action to challenge the result of the west ward count in the Galway City Council area.

A dispute arose at the count centre in the Westside on Sunday evening after Fine Gael's Mr Pádraig Conneely beat off Sinn Féin's Ms Ann Marie Carroll by 14 votes to take the fourth and final seat in the ward.

Following a re-examination of the 108 spoiled votes, returning officer Mr Joe Considine refused Sinn Féin's request for a recount.

Yesterday, Mr Considine decided not to allow them view the spoiled ballots. Mr Daniel Callanan, a newly elected Sinn Féin candidate in the seven-seater north-east ward, said the party was taking legal advice as to its chances of success if it brought an electoral petition to the High Court to have a recount in the west ward.

He claimed that because of a "freak" transfer of votes between a Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael candidate after the third count, Ms Carroll had lost out on 14 votes. At the end of the third count in the west ward, outgoing Fianna Fáil Cllr Martin Quinn ordered a recount as he was only three votes behind Mr Conneely.

Both candidates had 746 votes and Mr Quinn was eliminated as he had the lowest first preference votes in the first count. Sinn Féin believes that if Mr Quinn had got through to the last count, Mr Conneely's transfers would have pushed Carroll through.

Mr Callanan said it was all down to a decision relating to the spoiled votes, but the only way they could get access to those votes was through an petition to the High Court.

"This election has a huge political significance in relation to the make-up of the council. If we got this seat, there would be seven seats between Labour, Sinn Féin and the Greens, seven seats between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the PDs and one Independent," he explained. However, if the result stood as it was, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the PDs would have a majority stronghold on the council.