General Election 2020 arrives: Vote #1 Longford

This weekend Longford voters have a simple choice to make - whether to elect a TD to Dáil Eireann or remain the only county in the country without a voice inside Leinster House.

It's a relatively stark, yet unpredictable political conundrum facing an electorate who chose only four years previously to send 33 per cent of votes outside of the county to Westmeath based candidates.

In a striking correlation to its 2016 equivalent, this weekend's election carries many of the same pressing local hallmarks typified by the likes of health, pensions, crime, rising childcare costs and housing incentives to aid squeezed middle income earners.

In all probability, three of the four seats up for grabs will once again go towards the more densely populated end of the constituency.

But with Labour's retiring Willie Penrose, who narrowly edged out Paul Hogan (Sinn Féin) and James Bannon (Fine Gael) for the constituency's last seat in 2016, the chance of Longford ending its four year Dáil hoodoo appears ever more politically discernible.

But to change all of that Longford voters have a straightforward choice to make when exercising their democratic muscle on Saturday.

The time for political pledges, ministerial visits, social media posts and electoral shadow boxing is over.

Now, is the time to exorcise the ghosts of 2016 by giving Longford the voice it truly deserves.

General Election 2020: The candidates in Longford / Westmeath