Fleming 188 votes from election as eighth count begins
Count 8 is underway in Laois at 10.30am
SITTING TD and junior minister Seán Fleming is just 188 votes away from election, as the eighth count gets underway in Laois.
A safe pair of hands at the ballot box for Fianna Fáil since 1997, the 66-year-old currently has a total of 9382 votes and should exceed the 9570 quota in the next round.
In his seventh general election, Fleming’s first preferences plunged from his poll-topping performance in 2016, when he romped home on the first count with 13,626 or 35.1% of the votes when Laois was also a standalone constituency.
However, it is a better performance than the last general election in 2020 when he got 7636 first preferences, compared to 8,123 this time.
It is enough to get him home in second place on the eighth count, with the distribution of former FG-turned Independent candidate Aisling Moran’s votes.
Count 7 result:
Distribution of Elaine Mullally (Ind) vote:
Seán Fleming +510 - 9382
Maria McCormack (SF) +350 - 5888
Aisling Moran (Ind) +719 - 4371
Brian Stanley (Ind) +826 - 8170
