Sinn Féin ex-MEP Liadh Ní Riada concedes during recount
A Sinn Féin European election candidate has conceded defeat, days after her party requested a full recount of votes in a Republic of Ireland constituency.
Liadh Ní Riada has accepted the result after failing to keep her MEP seat in the Ireland South constituency. She congratulated her Green Party rival Grace O'Sullivan. The recount was requested by Sinn Féin last week after a partial recheck showed Ms Ní Riada was just over 300 votes behind Ms O'Sullivan. Initially, returning officer Martin Harvey indicated the recount could cost in the region of €1m (£889,325) and could take as long as six weeks to complete. However, this was revised to one week after extra counting staff were drafted in from other areas. Sinn Féin said at the time the recount was justified because the gap between the two candidates was 0.04% of the votes cast. 'Clarity' The recount began in Cork on Tuesday morning and Ms Ní Riada spent 40 minutes at the count centre on Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesday evening, she issued a statement confirming that she was no longer challenging the result. "I want to warmly congratulate Grace on her election to the European Parliament," she said. "I am happy that the democratic process has delivered the clarity we sought given that the initial difference was so tight." The outgoing MEP, who was first elected to the European Parliament in 2014, said she was "incredibly proud" of her term in office and "honoured" to be part of Sinn Féin's team of MEPs. Ms Ní Riada's votes will now be redistributed to determine the final placing of candidates for the remaining three seats. So far, only two people have been elected officially in the Ireland South constituency - Fine Gael's Sean Kelly, who topped the poll, and Fianna Fáil's Billy Kelleher.