Sign the petition against illegally conducted campaign and its result

[Almanac]

Got this email today:

There is a high chance that if we get enough signatures that agree that the Irish Government ran a fraudulent and illegal campaign against the Lisbon treaty and submit it by 9th October, then they won't be able to continue with ratification. Please sign and send on to everyone you can. Remain active, we need everyone doing what they can.

One accepts the result of the Lisbon re-run as a fact, but it is not a result that democrats need morally or politically to identify with or approve. This result does not have political legitimacy, whatever the voting percentages amount to, because of the fraudulent and undemocratic way in which the referendum was run, making it unique in these respects among the 30 or so referendums that have been held in Ireland since its Constitution was adopted in 1937.

Click on the link below to go to the petition.

The Irish Government ran a fraudulent and illegal campaign for the Lisbon Treaty Petition

[davehiggz]

haha another sore loser thread, I can't stop laughing at these

Illegal? You mean the referendum that under the constitution is allowed to be put to the electorate multiple times, like Abortion, Divorce or the Nice Treaty? The courts already gave their judgement on this!

And you have a problem with voter fraud then there's already another sore loser thread for that too

[Wheely217]

Sign a petition to have crackpot losers conscripted into the new EU army you say?? I'll sigfn it!!!!

[Bobert]

You know for this to be a success you'll need to get the total level fo signatures that voted for Lisbon + 1 to sign it, right?

[Almanac]

Mr Coughlan points out that there were at least six dimensions to this illegality. Two of these directly involved the Government:

1) The intervention of the European Commission, entailing massive expenditure of money to influence Irish opinion towards a Yes, the running of a web-site and the issuing of statements that sought to counter No-side arguments, and the adocacy of a Yes vote by Commission President Barroso and other Commissioners and their staffs during visits to Ireland. This is unlawful under European law, as the Commission has no function in relation to the ratification of new Treaties, something that is exclusively a matter for the Member States under their own constitutional procedures;

2.) The part funding of the posters and press advertising of most of Ireland’s Yes-side political parties by their sister parties in the European Parliament, even though it is illegal under Irish law to receive donations from sources outside the country in a referendum and even though, under European law, money provided by the European Parliament to cross-national political parties is supposed to be confined to informational-type material and to avoid partisan advocacy;

3) The Irish Government’s unlawful use of public funds in circulating to voters a postcard with details of the so-called “assurances” of the European Council, followed by a brochure some time later containing a tendentious summary of the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, as well as other material - steps that were in breach of the 1995 Irish Supreme Court judgement in McKenna that it is unconstitutional of the Government to use public funds to seek to obtain a particular result in a referendum;

4) The failure of the country’s statutory Referendum Commission to carry out its function under the Referendum Act that established it of explaining to citizens how the proposed constitutional amendment and its text would affect the Irish Constitution. Instead the Commission’s Chairman, Judge Frank Clarke, turned the Commission into an arm of Government propaganda, while the judge indulged himself in various “solo-runs” on radio and in the newspapers, giving several erroneous explanations of provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, even though this was quite beyond his powers under the Act;

5) Huge expenditure of money by private companies such as Intel and Ryanair to advocate a Yes vote, without any statutory limit, in possible breach of Irish company and tax law, and undoubtedly constituting a major democratic abuse.

6) Breaches by the Irish broadcast media of their obligation under the Broadcasting Acts to be fair to all interests concerned in their coverage of issues of public controversy and debate. Newstalk 106, owned by Mr Denis O’Brien, a committed supporter of the Yes side, was quite shameless in its partisanship on its current affairs programmes.

[Almanac]

You know for this to be a success you'll need to get the total level fo signatures that voted for Lisbon + 1 to sign it, right?

I'm just passing it on. I think it's a worthwhile initiative.

[Tyrnasca]

How many signatures are needed? What is the course of action if these signatures are obtained?

[rhonda15]

signed

[Wheely217]

I'm just passing it on. I think it's a worthwhile initiative.

Yeah. But you would wouldn't ya......

[Almanac]

haha another sore loser thread, I can't stop laughing at these

Illegal? You mean the referendum that under the constitution is allowed to be put to the electorate multiple times, like Abortion, Divorce or the Nice Treaty? The courts already gave their judgement on this!

No that's not what I mean at all. Read the comments by Mr Anthony Coughlan.