SDLP and Fianna Fáil support Inishowen man's voting campaign
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The campaign was created by Inishowen man Cian Brambrick, who says that giving presidential voting rights to everyone who is eligible for an Irish passport on the Island of Ireland, particularly those in the six counties, symbolises that those people are recognised as Irish citizens.
At Stormont to support the proposal, Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan Brendan Smith said: "Extending the franchise for future elections for the Office of President of Ireland- Uachtarán na hÉireann- is a small but meaningful acknowledgement of the need to be inclusive of both traditions, and none, on this island in constitutional change in the future.”
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Hide AdThe Newry & Armagh MLA commented: “We have come a very long way from the days of old when the ambitions and aspirations of young republicans would not have been welcome in a place like Stormont. It gave me pride and pleasure to engage with Ógra Fianna Fáil in Stormont today on the issue of Presidential Voting Rights for all. The passion, energy, and strength of the argument on display were emboldening for everyone involved.
“Ireland is changing, not just because the census results say so, but because the Irish society of old, which many saw as being defined by insular parochialism, has been replaced by a dynamic, inclusive and outward-looking Ireland. For me, this is particularly evident when speaking with our young people. They are not constrained or inhibited by the past, they’re emboldened and fired up for the future.
“Affording Presidential Voting Rights to everyone on this island is a no-brainer. It would be a profoundly sensible and deeply symbolic move, which would serve as a milestone on the road to a new, inclusive, and shared Ireland, and would offer unionism the opportunity to shape our Shared Homeplace.”
Senator for Donegal Niall Blaney said: “The offer of a vote to all on this Island in our future Presidential elections, is one which unionists must not fear, but rather take it as an invitation to embrace and involve themselves on such matters on a shared Island basis in a manner which in no way affects their constitutional status on this Island as enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement.”