The annual general meeting of Portlaoise Town Council is expected to elect and decorate a new mayor to preside over the council meetings for the next 12 months.
Speaking to Metro Eireann, Cllr Rotimi Adebari (independent) – a member of the town council since 2004 – said every one of the nine councillors stands a good chance of being elected as mayor.
Portlaoise Town Council is a place where no political party dominates. Out of the nine council seats, both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have three councillors each; two are independents; and the remaining seat is claimed by Sinn Féin.
Indications from the past voting patterns in the last three years strongly show that this could be an opportunity for Ireland to produce its first mayor born outside of the country.
The Nigerian-born Cllr Adebari could make history as the first immigrant mayor in modern times of the Portlaoise Town Council, which was established at the beginning of the 19th century.
