'It's an honour': Record number of candidates from migrant backgrounds elected to councils
In Winning First The Electoral Party’s South Ccity’s Cork Councillor Larry The After Seat The Kamegni Became Honore East Picture: Black Area A Green Cummins
So much of the commentary leading into the local elections this year focused on the emerging far right, anti-immigration candidates and how they would fare.
And, indeed, a little more than a handful gained seats for the first time in these elections.
But with less fanfare, a strong narrative of LE2024 has been the number of candidates from migrant backgrounds who were elected in record numbers to local councils around the country.
Albeit still in relatively small figures, more candidates from migrant backgrounds were elected than far-right ones in these local elections, with the final tally just shy of 20.
Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar remarked on Newstalk on Saturday evening that “for every far-right warrior on Twitter who’s going to get elected there’ll be at least one Fine Gael migrant-background candidate in Dublin elected”.
He pointed to father-and-son duo Baby and Britto Pereppadan in Tallaght, Punam Rane in Kimmage-Rathmines, Supriya Singh in Donaghmede and Lumi Panaite Fahey in Celbridge, all of whom went on to win seats over the weekend.
In the case of Panaite Fahey, she is originally from Romania but moved to Ireland 20 years ago. She only became a candidate four weeks ago, entering politics as a result of her experience with her son, who has additional needs.
Kildare residents will not thank Mr Varadkar for suggesting Celbridge is in Dublin but it was a point made — people from immigrant backgrounds were running in these elections and winning.
And it was not just Fine Gael. Nor was it just Dublin. It was across a range of political parties and around the country.
According to statistics from the Immigrant Council of Ireland, one in 20 candidates in this year’s local elections were from a migrant background, with the number of such candidates this time around doubling compared to 2019.
Chief executive Brian Killoran said many political decisions about the future of migrant communities in Ireland were effectively being made without their participation and inclusion, and it was a matter of “equality and fairness” that their voices and experiences were represented at the decision-making level locally and nationally.
In 2014, just three candidates from a migrant background were elected, with over 900 seats up for grabs. It rose in 2019, but was still in single figures at just nine. ICI said at least 17 have made the cut this time.
On Sunday night, history was made in Cork as the Green Party’s Honore Kamegni became the city’s first black councillor after winning a seat in the south-east electoral area.
The 46-year-old An Post manager, originally from Cameroon but living in Ireland for more than 20 years, contrasted the abuse he had received on social media to his experience canvassing in person.
“I got a lot of abuse and hatred [online], but I feel they tried to distract me from my focus and my campaign,” he said.
“They are people hiding behind their keyboards where they can say whatever they want to say.”
Mr Kamegni said he did not experience any abuse in person during his campaign.
“I met the real people and spoke to the real people. They were very friendly and very supportive. I didn’t get any abuse of any type at the doorstep,” he said.
Mr Kamegni’s sentiments were echoed by his Green Party colleague Feljin Jose, who was elected to Dublin City Council in Cabra-Glasnevin. Mr Jose moved to Dublin from India at the age of nine and is a PhD student at DCU.
A well-known a was something that should be pushed back against.
Another bit of history was made in Galway as Helen Ogbu became the first black woman to be elected to the city council there, winning a seat in the east of the city for Labour.
“From asylum seeker to Labour councillor,” hailed Dublin MEP candidate Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, while Ms Ogbu herself told Galway Bay FM it was a mark of the progress the city of Galway and the country was making.
“It’s an honour, it’s a privilege to make history,” she said. “We are in this together, we have the same commitments to serve the community and it’s something we’ll continue doing.”
Two other Labour candidates of migrant backgrounds won seats, in Dún Laoghaire and Limerick City East.
Ammar Ali was just two years old when his family moved to Ireland from Pakistan. A long-time canvasser and local activist for Fianna Fáil, he won a seat in Dublin South West Inner City.
Fianna Fáil had success with candidates from immigrant backgrounds in other areas, such as Abul Kalam Azad Talukder, from Bangladesh, retaining a seat in Limerick City West and JK Onwumereh, from Nigeria, in Mulhuddart-Blanchardstown.