A ballot box blunder left hundreds of Irish soldiers unable to vote in last week’s local and European elections.
The Defence Forces are to launch a probe into the fiasco that saw postal votes arrive too late for Friday’s poll.
One serving soldier said last night this was the first time in her two decades of service she was not able to vote – and warned morale was at an all-time low.
She added: “I’m due for retirement next year and this is the first time ever that this has happened. It’s a complete sham.
“We are always told to never talk to the press, but I’ve just got so p***ed off. It’s got to the stage where there is pure contempt for what they are doing to us.
“If the figure I am hearing of 40% is true that is nearly half of the Defence Forces that could not vote.”
Photos, which appear to show packets containing individual postal ballots lying on a desk in a major Dublin barracks, have emerged across social media. A source said it’s understood these are some of the ballot papers that arrived on Monday – three days after the election.
A TD is now demanding the Government gives answers.
Fianna Fail defence spokesman Jack Chambers told the Irish Mirror last night: “The Defence Forces are there to protect our democracy.
“To think the men and women who work so hard on a daily basis weren’t able to properly participate in the democratic process is a very alarming development.
“It needs to be answered so there is a full explanation from the minister.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is the Minister for Defence and has the ultimate responsibility. Another member of the Defence Forces spoke anonymously to the Irish Mirror.
He said: “I went up looking for mine on Wednesday [May 22] from the company clerk and he turned around and said ‘they’re actually not here, I don’t have them to give them to you’. Our ones arrived Friday evening.
“I know one guy who tried to go in to the polling station with the envelopes and said ‘look can you take them here’ and he said ‘no we can’t accept them, they have to be posted’. Some only arrived on Monday.”
A spokesman for the Department of Defence told the Irish Mirror last night: “This is an issue for the Defence Forces and has been forwarded to them for reply.”
A spokesman for the Defence Forces said: “Oglaigh na hEireann has been made aware a number of personnel have expressed concern that they did not receive a postal vote.
“Inquiries are ongoing into these concerns, with a view to establishing the facts. This will include confirmation or otherwise that personnel were correctly registered.”
