"This is getting very dirty.It seems like the bloodymindedness of the Irish (most of them at least, nothing but praise for the brave who stood their ground) has gone. Seems a bit pointless now with their civil war and all as does the English civil war. Indeed any European civil war seems utterly pointless when our masters go and sign away our right-to-choose without a fight. If there had been a fight there had at least been a raison d'être left lingering after the war was fought and lost. Now? There is just and empty void.
Many people in Ireland are right to suspect their Taoiseach of planning foul play in order to win this referendum. He has broken every rule in the book during the campaign, and the law has afforded little protection to the NO side with most of their posters getting dragged down, for example.
Now the COIR Campaign asked its activists to get a total of votes cast at each polling station at the end of the day, to see if the final totals checked out with the day's votes. But the Irish government who are responsible for 'storing' the ballot boxes overnight, are threatening anyone who enquires as to the number of votes cast from the presidinging officers, with immediate arrest.
It seems almost certain now that the Poll is going to rigged by ballot box tampering while the boxes are 'stored' overnight. This is a shocking development,but not a surprising one given the total disregard for legality displayed by the Irish government throughout the campaign.
Cóir has said that the State has undermined the confidence the electorate can have in the referendum process by threatening citizens with arrest if they proceeded with plans to monitor the vote on the Lisbon Treaty.
“Today we were told by Dublin City Sheriff, Brendan Walsh, that he had asked the Gardaí to take action against any of our volunteers who sought information as to the number of votes cast in a polling station at the end of the day,” said Manus Mac Meanmain of Cóir.
“To say we are shocked is an understatement,” he continued. “In conversation with Cóir, Mr Walsh confirmed that the information being requested by Cóir was compiled by the Presiding officer at each polling centre at the end of the day’s voting in any case.”
“But now he has threatened any citizen who politely requests that information from the Presiding Officer with arrest. This is simply outrageous, and will shatter the faith citizens should be able to have in this referendum process.”
It looks like there will need to be a third referendum now, as the results of this one will be suspect.
UPDATE - More shenanigans - A Fine Gael exit poll was reported by the Irish Times as giving a narrow victory to the YES side, 52% to 48%. But the same poll was reported on Irish TV, RTE channel, as 60% to 40%.
Earlier fears of illegal referendum behaviour expressed HERE"
What is there left to say then you might ask? Might the above just be a protection from the Irish government. To stop both eurocrats and eurosceptics from meddling with the vote. That is as about as likely as a halal pork sandwich. No expenses, legal and illegal, will be sparred in passing this treaty.
Here are my final pearls of wisdom before I wake up tomorrow and find the "yes, yes, yes!!!" screaming from the TV and a very smug Barrosso standing in the background 'thanking' the Irish for their continued support of the EU. All I have to say is, fuck (I could have said 'scheisse' or 'merde' thereby adding a dimension of tragicomedy to this whole drama but I stuck with the good old British 'fuck' because, well, I thought it appropriate that we display its grand standing as the magnus-opus of foulness one last time, before it falls under the aegis of political correctness) .
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