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Following Tuesday’s meeting of the executive council, it was left to the county chairs and candidates in Connacht to find a way to leave one or two valid candidates, but it appears that no resolution was found before Sunday.
Voting to elect the 15th president of the IFA now gets under way on Tuesday night in branches across the country, concluding on Friday 15 April.
IFA national returning officer Jer Bergin has encouraged farmers to attend the branch meetings in the 29 county executives to vote for the positions of president and deputy president.
The election, Bergin said, is an opportunity for the 75,501 members who have a vote to decide who will lead them for the next four years.
"The IFA election is unique, as it allows every member the chance to hear what candidates are offering and then they have a vote in the national contest," he said.
This year's election will be run on a one-member, one-vote basis. The final debate takes place in Offaly on Tuesday night.
Over 60 of the 947 branches will vote on Tuesday, including Bere Island (west Cork), Valentia Island (Kerry), Churchill-Glenswilly (Donegal), Ballyragget (Kilkenny), Drumshanbo (Leitrim), Achill Island (Mayo), Strokestown (Roscommon) and Boolavogue (Wexford).
The full listing of all branch votes is available here.
The candidates
Henry Burns, Joe Healy and Flor McCarthy are running for the position of president.
Pat Farrell, Richard Kennedy and Nigel Renaghan are running for the position of deputy president.
The National Count will take place in the Castleknock Hotel, Co Dublin, on 19 April.
Watch our live debate with the three candidates for IFA president in a special edition of Around the Editor's Table this Friday 1 April at 8pm on www.farmersjournal.ie.
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