Sir, – Is it not clear that urgent consideration should now be given to the regulations by which candidates can contest elections for the European Parliament?
Should not the threshold of support that would-be candidates need from electors in the constituency be reviewed upwards?
Currently it stands at 60 signatures.
Even if such a change thinned out the field, it might still remain advisable to review the regulations concerning multiple eliminations of the lower-based candidates in the first count. I understand how mathematically these are currently decided and how well intentioned they are. But there are limits!
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Such reforms would be to the benefit of voters, pollsters, counters, commentators and the candidates in serious contention for the available seats – to say nothing of the long-suffering returning officers.
It might even be to the benefit of the also-rans – even if they did not appreciate the point. – Yours, etc,
JOHN
BOWMAN,
Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – Surely there is something wrong with the system when the ballot paper in some constituencies, such as Ireland South, assumed the dimensions, if not the aesthetic appeal, of a roll of wallpaper. – Yours, etc,
LAURA
SCALLY,
Dublin 8.