The weeks of campaigning are at an end, and polling stations will open at 7am this Friday morning for voting in the Local and European Elections. Voting will take place in several local primary schools, and Mallow Youth Centre, and counting of votes will take place on Saturday in the Youth Centre.
In the Mallow Electoral Area, there are ten candidates going forward for the five seats on offer. The five outgoing councillors are Pat Hayes and Gearóid Murphy (FF), Tony O’Shea and Liam Madden (FG), and Eoghan Kenny (Labour), while the five seeking to unseat them are Melissa O’Brien (SF), Paul McNally (The Green Party), David Curry (Social Democrats), Paddy Scully (Aontú), and Ross Cannon (The Irish People). All candidates have been criss-crossing the local communities in recent weeks, meeting candidates and seeking their support. Now, however, the talking is over, and the public will have their say.
Tally people will be in position early on Saturday morning to witness boxes being opened in Mallow Youth Centre and voting papers sorted, although the counting of votes won’t start until after the European Election votes have been separated from the local ones. The actual counting of votes will begin at about 4pm on Saturday, but of course the tally people will by that stage have a good idea of the winners and also-rans, as they will have been keeping count of the no. 1s as the papers are sorted on Saturday morning.
Remember, polling booths will be open from 7am to 10pm tomorrow, and candidates have been urging people, especially the youth, to vote on Friday. Make your mark!