Democracy should not be experimental. The peaceful transfer of power should be deeply process-driven. There is more than enough novelty in the outcome. Any democratic experiment needs to be considered over many years.   The campaign for Limerick’s directly elected mayor is one such experiment, and we will learn the results of that experiment this weekend. This is a single-seat constituency election for a role that has never existed before in the Republic. There are 15 candidates. Eleven are party-affiliated, four are independent.   The mayor is designed to personify the principles of democracy and accountability.  In full disclosure, I argued strongly…

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