No change to presidency ballot paper following shock Gavin withdrawal

A candidate for the Irish presidency who spectacularly withdrew from the race will still be on the ballot paper, it has been confirmed.

Jim Gavin dropped out of contention late on Sunday night after being dogged by questions about claims he owed a former tenant thousands of euro for a rental arrangement that was not properly registered.

Mr Gavin was selected to run for Fianna Fail against Fine Gael choice Heather Humphreys and left-wing Independent Catherine Connolly, who has the backing of Sinn Fein, the Social Democrats and Labour.

It had been expected that because he quit the race after the formal closure of nominations, the ballot paper could not be changed in time.

After consultation, the returning officer has confirmed that Mr Gavin’s name will remain.

Any votes for Mr Gavin will be counted and then, because of the transferable vote process, that support will be distributed proportionally to other candidates, if necessary.

Fianna Fail is holding a meeting of its parliamentary party on Wednesday to discuss the issues surrounding its campaign.

Mr Gavin, an aviation official who was formerly a military pilot and Dublin Gaelic football manager, withdrew from the contest after acknowledging he “made a mistake”.

The Irish Independent had reported claims from a tenant who said he had failed to recover more than 3,000 euro in overpaid rent from Mr Gavin 16 years ago.

The handling of the controversy has been criticised as a “complete shambles” from inside the party and out, raising questions about Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin’s decision to push for a candidate with no political experience.

Mr Martin said his party conducted “comprehensive due diligence” on Mr Gavin and, while being aware he was a former landlord, was not aware of the rent issue.

The Taoiseach said his decision to back Mr Gavin was to pick a “broad-based candidate”.

He said: “I take responsibility for that and I want to acknowledge that many, many members of the party are hurting out there because of what has transpired.”

Mr Martin, who insisted it was his intention to continue leading Fianna Fail, said he was open to engaging the parliamentary party for a comprehensive review.

The presidential election will be held on October 24.