Nick Bowes, insight director from the London Communications Agency, stated, 'These are likely to be the most consequential elections in London, certainly for the past 20 years - possibly since the first borough elections in 1964.'
In the US, voters can register to vote in elections as an "independent," as opposed to a Republican or Democrat. Of course, there's little practical reason to go independent, because the two parties have had a stranglehold on US politics since the era of Civil War reconstruction. Yet as Independent Center senior advisor Adam Brandon , AI could be just the tool to shake things up.
"Fine Gael public representatives cannot in any way facilitate the nomination of any candidate other than the ratified Fine Gael candidate. "In the event of a vote of any local authority on the nomination of a person other than the ratified Fine Gael candidate, the Fine Gael local authority members are whipped to oppose that nomination," the email from party general secretary John Carroll said.
Once every seven years, the councillors get to exercise a profound power that has enormous implications. Councils get to decide if a candidate can get on the ticket for the election to become president. It's a privileged position the council members find themselves in. There are two routes to get on the ballot. The first and most obvious route is through the Oireachtas, where the signatures of 20 TDs and senators are required.
