Trinity student and former Trinity College Dublin Student Union (TCDSU) Mature Students Officer, Carly Bailey, resigned as Vice-Chair of the Social Democrats yesterday, amid a crisis in the party over its handling of the controversy surrounding local election candidate Ellie Kisyombe.
Bailey stepped down yesterday alongside party Chair Joe O’Connor – who previously served as President of the Union of Students Ireland (USI) – stating in her resignation letter that she could not stand over a decision that amounted to “abandoning a candidate”.
Kisyombe, who is originally from Malawi and has spent much of the past decade in the direct provision system, was announced as the party’s candidate for a seat on the Dublin City Council in the local elections in May.
However, it is understood that serious misgivings have emerged at party leadership level over Kisyombe’s candidacy, following concerns raised in the media over the past week about aspects of the story of how she came to Ireland.
The issue has left the party in turmoil, with the Dublin Central branch reportedly contacting members last night to affirm their support for Kisyombe.
Bailey, who was last year announced as the party’s candidate to contest the Dublin South West constituency in next year’s general election, said in a resignation letter seen by the Irish Times that she could not “stand over effectively what feels like appeasing the opinions of political correspondents over that of many of the members of the national executive, our candidates, our members and our supporters”.
A spokesperson for the Social Democrats confirmed that the resignations had taken place, saying in a statement that “the co-leaders wrote to the national executive and expressed concern at the allegation that there may be some inaccuracies in Ellie’s back story, while also appreciating the complexities and severe difficulties posed for those caught up in the asylum process. As a result, the national executive subsequently met and has decided to carry out a review to work through this with Ellie”.
