Independent Candidate Claims Path to Election Success Lies in Joining a Major Political Party
Independent General Election candidate Dean Lillis believes the only way to get into government is to join a main political party.
Buoyed by a promising local election result last summer he decided to contest the recent general election in the Limerick City Constituency in hopes of “making a real difference”.
However, he was eliminated after the first count, having secured just 132 first-preference votes, which he described as “disappointing and a learning curve.”
When asked about his future political plans Lillis revealed: “I will go back to community activism and I will be looking to join a party if I do run again.”
“What this election has told me is that in practice we really have a two-party political system and if you’re serious about change this election has crystalized that you’ll have to join one of those parties if you’re interested in getting into government”.
Commenting on the difficulties of running as an independent in the Limerick city constituency he said: “It’s a Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael stronghold”. Lillis remarked he “feels his hand is forced to join a political party in order to make a difference”.
Lillis who is a former Presidbt of the Univesrity of Limerick Postgraduate Students’ Union, had predicted a stronger vote for independents based on the pre-election polls and was susprised it didn’t materialise: “Ireland bucked the anti-government trend we saw across Europe in recent elections,” he said.
The Limerick man says he has taken inspiration from Galway East candidate Albert Dolan who like Lillis ran for local and general elections four years ago as an independent candidate and received less than 100 votes.
However, after joining Fianna Fáil Dolan was elected in this election.
Lillis hopes he can emulate this feat in the future.