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!
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.