A contest between former minister Heather Humphreys and the MEP Seán Kelly to become Fine Gael’s presidential candidate became increasingly likely on Monday night after the party’s executive council decided to seek fresh nominations rather than selecting a single candidate.
Nominations will open on Tuesday for two weeks.
Ms Humphreys is said by former colleagues to be keen to become the candidate. Ahead of the meeting, Mr Kelly said he would be “leaning towards contesting”.
The meeting was hastily convened after the sudden announcement on Thursday by party nominee Mairead McGuinness that she was dropping out of the race for health reasons.
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Ms McGuinness said she made the “very difficult decision” after a stay in hospital and would now prioritise her health. “I do not believe that I have the strength to give the campaign my all,” she said.
Her departure has left just one confirmed candidate in the contest, the left-wing Independent TD Catherine Connolly.
After deliberating for little over an hour on Monday evening, Fine Gael’s executive council decided it would reopen nominations until September 2nd.
Ms Humphreys had ruled herself out of the race earlier this year, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family.
However, party sources have said that following the vacation of the nomination by Ms McGuinness, she has expressed strong interest in representing the party in the autumn poll. Her candidacy has been strongly backed by Tánaiste and party leader Simon Harris.
Sources said that when he contacted Fine Gael Ministers on Friday to tell them Ms McGuinness was standing down, he voiced strong support for former Cavan-Monaghan TD Ms Humphreys, who is a long-time ally.
However, South MEP Seán Kelly has also indicated his interest. He considered contesting the nomination against Ms McGuinness earlier in summer, but he ultimately decided against it.
In response to queries from The Irish Times on Monday Mr Kelly said he was in “decision mode”.
In a text sent before the executive meeting, he said that, depending on the outcome, he would “be leaning towards contesting”.
When asked if the outcome of the meeting would lead to a contest between Ms Humphreys and Mr Kelly, a senior party figure said: “Most likely, yes.”
Mr Harris was present for the full meeting. Sources said there was a clear mood among those present that there should be a contest and a hustings.
The two-week period is to allow prospective candidates to win sufficient support within the party.
To be nominated, a candidate needs the named support of 20 members of the parliamentary party, 25 Fine Gael councillors and five members of the executive council.
