REPUBLICANS LEADING

Taranaki Daily News, 20 February 1932, Page 5

REPUBLICANS LEADING

MAJORITY OF FOURTEEN FREE STATE UNCERTAINTY 57 SEATS OUTSTANDING .CLOSE FINISH EXPECTED By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. Ree. 12J5 a.m. London, Feb. 19. progressive returns of the Irish Free State election showed at 12.30 the state of parties was:—= Government •• • 30 Republicans 40 Independents ■ 1° Labour • • 7 At 1.30 the figures were:— Government 31 Republicans ...«•••• 43 7 Independent ... It)

An hour later the Government had 32, Republicans 46 and the others were unchanged. A close finish is expected, a change of Government being not yet certain, though the De Valera Party may be the strongest unit. Mr. Cosgrave complained of the vagaries of proportional representation, but he has reason now to bless it because it enabled some of his candidates to scrape home from near the bottom of ths poll. The total Government poll in North Dublin was 36,000 against the De Valera party’s 25,000. The highest poll for the whole Free State was Mr. Cosgrave’s, nevertheless the Government candidates appear to have dropped votes almost everywhere. The electors rewarded Labour’s alliance with the Republicans with the defeat of many Labour candidates. All the Communist candidates were rejected. Mr. Cosgrave increased his vote by 1000, while Mr. De Valera’s vote dropped 1400. The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr. Alfred Byrne, was elected as an independent supporter of the Government. Mr. Dan Breen (Republican), the I.R.A. veteran, was elected in Tipperary. The following- are among those elected -—Dublin City North, Mrs. Collins O’Driscoll (Government); Longford (Westmeath), General Maceoin (Government); Cork, Mr. R. S. Antony; Tipperary, Mr. D. Morrissey. Both the latter are Independent Labourites who were expelled from the party in October for supporting the Public Safety Bill.