Although we’re still waiting for Election 2016 to officially kick off, candidates are already out and about, hoping to hoover up as many votes as possible. Of course no Irish election would be complete without the posters and songs that we have come to expect and this is where comedian Alison Spittle comes in.

For the duration of the election Alison will join George Hook in studio every Friday to discuss the funnier side of the campaign and to shine a spotlight on some of the more bizarre events that are part and parcel of an Irish election.

For the first episode in this series, we take a look at the election song, a staple of many candidates – the election song usually has its roots in country and western music (unless of course you are Donald Trump).

You can listen to the first episode of Talking Ballots below:

Election posters are probably what we most associate with the campaign and pretty soon every lamp post in the country will be covered with them so Alison presented George of some of the best examples of how to catch the public’s eye, have a look below:

She also touched on parish pump politics saying that 'A TD is as common as a ham sandwich at a funeral. If you didn’t see one you’d think there was something wrong. I’ve often heard politicians count out the numbers of eligible voters in an extended family and try their best to get their request sorted’.

You can hear Talking Ballots with Alison Spittle every Friday on the Right Hook for the duration of Election 2016.