IMMIGRANT CANDIDATES:FORMER MAYOR of Portlaoise Rotimi Adebari was one of just three immigrant candidates to secure local authority seats at the weekend.
Mr Adebari was joined by Dutch former aid worker Jan Rotte, who retained his seat for the Labour Party in Lismore, Co Waterford, and Kristina Jankaitiene, a Lithuanian school teacher who took a seat for the Green Party in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.
Of 44 immigrant candidates tracked by The Irish Times, they were the only ones to be confirmed last night, although some counts were yet to be completed. Taiwo Matthew, an Independent from Nigeria, lost the seat he won in Ennis, Co Clare, in 2004.
As well as retaining his Portlaoise town council seat, Mr Adebari also took a place on Laois County Council, which he narrowly lost out on in 2004.
“I am highly delighted and appreciative of the fact that people still have confidence in me,” he said.
“I look forward to playing my part in the town in the next five years, and to be there for them in as much as I can.”
In Mulhuddart, north Dublin, Fine Gael’s Adeola Ogunsina received 7.3 per cent of first preferences and came closest to taking a seat ahead of fellow Nigerians Idowu Olafimihan of Fianna Fáil (4.6 per cent) and Independent Ignatius Okafor (3.5 per cent).
Elena Secas, a former journalist from Moldova who stood for Labour in Limerick East, claimed 7.8 per cent of the first preference vote and narrowly lost out on the last seat.
Indian Baby Pereppadan, an Independent, received 5.2 per cent of first preferences in Tallaght South, while the Green Party’s Tendai Madondo, who comes from Zimbabwe, secured 4.2 per cent.
Mr Adebari said it was pleasing that many immigrants wanted to get involved in their communities, but he suggested a rethink was needed if more were to be successful in politics.
“How do you explain the situation where, in one electoral area, three immigrant candidates are standing, without taking into consideration that they are actually tapping into the same vote,” he said, referring to Mulhuddart.
