Elections in Ireland

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Template:Politics of the Republic of Ireland Template:Politics of Northern Ireland

The Republic of Ireland elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a seven year term by Irish citizens resident in the Republic (see below). Residents of the Republic who are Irish citizens or British citizens may participate in elections to the national parliament. Residents who are citizens of any EU state may vote in European elections, while any resident, regardless of citizenship, may participate in local elections.

Oireachtas Éireann (the national parliament) has two chambers. Dáil Éireann (the house of representatives or lower house) has 166 members, elected for a term of up to five years by the single transferable vote system in multi-seat constituencies. Seanad Éireann (the Senate or upper house) has 60 members, 11 members nominated by the Taoiseach, 6 members elected by graduates of two universities and 43 members elected from five vocational panels, all in short time after the parliamentary elections.

Politics in the Republic of Ireland is dominated by two main parties, although the electoral system provides for a form of proportional representation, with the consequence that coalition government has become the norm in recent decades.

General elections

Election results since 1923

Election results since 1937

Presidential elections

Main article: Irish presidential election

The President of Ireland is formally elected by the citizens of Ireland once in every seven years, except in the event of premature vacancy, when an election must be held within sixty days. The President is directly elected by secret ballot under the system of the Alternative Vote. While both Irish and UK citizens resident in the state may vote in elections to Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament), only Irish citizens, who must be at least eighteen years of age, may vote in the election of the President. The presidency is open to all citizens of the state who are at least 35. A candidate must, however be nominated by one of the following:

• Twenty members of the Oireachtas (national parliament).
• Four local authorities.
• Themselves (in the case of an incumbent or former president).

Where only one candidate is nominated, he or she is deemed elected without the need for a ballot. For this reason, where there is a consensus among political parties, the President may be 'elected' without the occurrence of an actual ballot. No one may serve as President for more than two terms.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland elects a legislature, the Northern Ireland Assembly, which has 108 members, elected in 18 six-member constituencies with the single transferable vote method. Northern Ireland has a multi-party system known as the D'Hondt system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. Parties are generally based on religious background

See also

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system
• Governments of Ireland
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland
• Irish general election timetable
• Irish Election Results
• Irish (UK) general election, 1918 - last all-Ireland general election
• Irish elections, 1921 in Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland
• Irish general election, 1922 leading to the Irish Free State
• Elections in Northern Ireland

External links

• Electionworld
• Adam Carr's Election Archive
• parties and elections

External link

• President of Ireland - official site