Vladimir Rakhmanin | Deputy Editor
The past week of the Leadership Race has seen numerous candidates fined for breaking the rules of the Electoral Commission.
Presidential candidate Jasper Pickersgill and Ents candidate Aleksandra Giersz have been fined three times, the most out of all the candidates. Jasper’s offences consisted of two instances of pre-campaigning online, unauthorised use of an Arts Building stand, endorsement, gift-giving and sponsorship – this was remedied through a restriction of online presence, a temporary redefinition of the campaign area, a temporary suspension of Twitter presence, and a temporary confiscation of campaign material. Aleksandra’s offences consisted of pre-campaigning, sponsorship, unsolicited electronic communication and undeclared expenditure. Her fines included an extended restriction of online presence and confiscation of campaign material.
Ents candidate Ben Ó Mathúin and Welfare candidate Ian Mooney have been fined twice. Ben’s offences included pre-campaigning, use of non-expensed materials, unrequested stunts, unsolicited electronic communication and undeclared expenditure. The Electoral Commission’s fines for these offences included a restriction of online presence and a temporary restriction of campaign material. Ben was also required to create a new ‘Like’ page for his campaign at the end of his restriction on online campaigning. Ian’s offences involved pre-campaigning, sponsorship and unsolicited electronic communication. The fines consisted of a restriction of online presence and a temporary confiscation of campaign material.
Finally, Welfare candidate Daniel McFadden, and Communications candidates PJ Moloney and Samuel Riggs were each fined once. Daniel’s offence was pre-campaigning, with the fine consisting of a temporary confiscation of campaign material. PJ’s offence consisted of unsolicited electronic group communication, with the fine involving a restriction of the use of his campaign video. Samuel’s offence was to do with the conduct of a campaign team member, which resulted in a temporary confiscation of campaign team material.
The candidates that have not been fined so far are Presidential candidate Domhnall McGlacken-Byrne, Education candidate Katie Byrne and Ents candidate Finn Murphy.
