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10th June 2024
10:55am BST
History has been made during the local elections this year, as Green Party candidate Honore Kamegni has become the first Black person to be elected to Cork City Council.
The An Post manager, originally from Cameroon, was elected on the 12th count in the South East Ward.
Honore Kamegni elected! No words can describe how big an achievement this is for a man who has defined the odds, beaten back the worst, and brought out the best of Cork City South East!
— Cork Greens (@CorkGreens) June 9, 2024
Unbelievable! Congrats Honore! 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚 https://t.co/7rkNrbhwye
Mr Kamegni has been living in Ireland for 22 years and says he now considers himself a proud Corkman.
The Green Party candidate said that during his campaign he received a lot of racial abuse online, believed to be from far right groups abroad, but has has experienced a lot of support on the ground, which shows in the results.
Taking to social media on Sunday evening, Mr Kamegni said: "After the 12th count, I am ELECTED. I am proud to represent this Great Party. Up the GREEN PARTY!"
The Cork Greens also celebrated the achievement on X, saying: "Honore Kamegni elected! No words can describe how big an achievement this is for a man who has defined the odds, beaten back the worst, and brought out the best of Cork City South East! Unbelievable! Congrats Honore!"
Speaking to the Cork Echo on Saturday while votes were being counted, Mr Kamegni said the experience has been "fantastic".
"I’ve had a fantastic reaction from people," he said. "Very supportive, very encouraging, all different from what is going on online.
"A lot of people hide behind keyboards and say what they want to say, but I’ve knocked on, I would say, 15,000 doors and most of the residents I have spoken with have been very, very supportive.”"
Other councillors elected in the South East ward include Mary Rose Desmond of Fianna Fail, Des Cahill of Fine Gael and Peter Horgan of the Labour Party.
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