Campaign posters of Laois Council Candidate defaced with racial slurs

A Laois candidate for local elections had six campaign posters defaced with racial slurs this weekend. 

Naeem Iqbal, a Fianna Fáil candidate for the Portlaoise Municipal District, had six of his campaign posters defaced with racist comments and slurs along the N77 road from Abbeyleix towards Junction 17.

On Saturday morning, the candidate received calls from friends and colleagues who had seen the vandalism in passing.

"As a human being, you feel down and upset about it," said Mr Iqbal.

"I was out canvassing in Ballyroan at the time when I got the calls. I just didn't bother to waste my time on it. I called my friends and asked them to remove the defaced ones and replace them."

The candidate, who has previously run for local council in 2019, has said that the rise in acts of racism has been drastic. 

"Looking back at 2019, I did not receive one bad comment based on my race," he said. "This time around, when you look at my social media, you will see a lot of racist comments under my posts. If you click into the profiles, most of them are not locals."

"The problem I have isn't with the costs of replacing the campaign posters, its the psychological effect of seeing that people have that sort of mentality," the candidate said.

"They are perfectly entitled to disagree with my views and opinions on matters. They have every right not to vote for me if they don't like me. But these comments made about my race are nasty, dirty and below the belt. it gives a bad taste to the whole campaign."

Naeem Iqbal, Fianna Fáil candidate for the Portlaoise Municipal District

Mr Iqbal, the former chairman of Laois Sports Partnership, has said that he will not let these actions affect his relationship with the people of Laois.

"The more attention we give [the vandals] the more important they feel. These are people with serious psychological and behavioral issues, filled with hate. I do not take their actions to be a reflection of society today," Mr Iqbal said.

"From the core of my heart, when I go out I meet the kindest people. I spend a lot of time canvassing door to door and I am always so welcomed. People are willing to listen just as much as to share their problems. Even today, I met families reassuring me and showing me support through this. I am so glad to live in such a wonderful society."