Ireland’s two main coalition parties — Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil — are on course to thump Sinn Fien in local council elections held on June 7. With results of almost half of 949 seats declared, Prime Minister Simon Harris’ Fine Gael and his main coalition partner Fianna Fail each had secured 23% of the first-preference votes.
The outcome dealt a potential blow to Sinn Fien’s hopes of securing its first victory in national election due by March 2025 as the left-wing party had hit 35% in opinion polls as recently as October.
As many as six Indian-origin candidates have managed to win local council polls. Here’s a full list:
1) Baby Pereppadan, the three-time councillor who contested as a Fine Gael candidate, won from Tallaght South in Dublin.
2) Britto Pereppadan, the 24-year-old who is the son of councillor Baby Pereppadan and contested as a Fine Gael candidate, won for the first time in Tallaght Central.
3) Feljin Jose is set to win as the Green Party candidate from Cabra-Glasnevin in Dublin
4) Punam Rane, who is from Mumbai, won as the Fine Gael candidate from Kimmage-Rathmines in Dublin.
5) Supriya Singh, who is from New Delhi, won as the Fine Gael candidate from Donaghmede in north Dublin
6) Thomas Joseph, who ran for the Labour Party, won a seat in Dun Laoghaire.