18 June 2001

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Move polling day to Sunday

Dublin South Central Sinn Fein representative Aengus Ó Snodaigh has called on the government to hold all future elections and referenda at weekends as part of an overall plan to maximise voter turnout.

Mr Ó Snodaigh said:

``I would like to welcome the introduction of electronic voting as one step to assist the voting process. However there are other fundamental changes which are required if we are to increase the turnout on polling day.  

``The major challenge is for parties to reach people with their message -  particularly young people and first-time voters - and motivate them enough to use their vote.  Our education system is crucial in this and should be used to educate young people to the importance of voting for sustaining democracy.

``The authorities also need to make it easier for people to vote and this means having sufficient polling stations easily accessible to voters and using candidate photographs as well as names to assist those with literacy difficulties.

``We are also calling on the government to hold all future elections and referenda on Sunday or spread over Saturday and Sunday in order to maximise voter turnout''.

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