First Count Tuam LEA: Roche romps home well past quota

Cllr Pete Roche and his wife Breda after he retained his set on the first count.

placeholder image — Cllr Pete Roche and his wife Breda after he retained his set on the first count.

The first count in the Tuam electoral area has been completed and it has resulted in Fine Gael’s Cllr Pete Roche topping the poll with 2,430 first preferences – exceeding the quota by 573 votes.

He is the only candidate to be elected on the first count and his surplus is now being distributed as the count continues for the time being.

A call will be made on how the count will proceed when the second count is completed.

The four Fianna Fail candidates have performed exceptionally well and there is talk of them taking four of the seven seats available but it is very early days.

There is also the potential for Fine Gael to take three seats while the independents, particularly those relying on big support in Tuam town, have not performed as well as expected.

The second count will be completed in the early hours of the morning.

Tuam

Number of seats: 7

Electorate: 25,125

Total poll: 15,067

Spoiled votes: 213

Total valid poll: 14,854

Quota: 1,857

First count

Pete Roche (FG) 2,430

Joe Sheridan (FF) 1,544

Donagh Killilea (FF) 1,521