IN less than five weeks’ time the next Uachtarán na hÉireann will be elected by the people of the 26 counties. Election day is October 24. That the people of the North and of the diaspora will be denied a vote is a disgraceful consequence of the efforts over recent years by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael (FFFG) to prevent the extension of the Presidential franchise. Both parties are frightened by the prospect of people who have never voted for either party voting in Presidential elections. They want to retain the status quo, not change it. This partitionist approach also influences the resistance of Micheál Martin and others to the growing potential for a referendum vote in favour of Irish unity.
