2018 Irish presidential election

Last updated

2018 Irish presidential election
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←  2011 26 October 2018 2025  →
Turnout43.9% (12.2% Decrease2.svg) [1]
 
President Higgins's visit FINIRISH BATT HQ, Lebanon (cropped).jpg
Peter-casey.jpg
Sean Gallagher portrait.jpg
Nominee Michael D. Higgins Peter Casey Seán Gallagher
Party Independent Independent Independent
1st preference822,566 (55.8%)342,727 (23.3%)94,514 (6.4%)
 
Liadh Ni Riada MLA Oct 2018 (close cropped).jpg
JoanFreemanPetaHousePressPack.jpg
Gavin Duffy.jpg
Nominee Liadh Ní Riada Joan Freeman Gavin Duffy
Party Sinn Féin Independent Independent
1st preference93,987 (6.4%)87,908 (6.0%)32,198 (2.2%)
Ireland 2018 presidential election.svg
Results by constituency:
Higgins:     35–40%     40–45%     45–50%     50–55%     55–60%     60–65%     65–70%     70–75%
President before election

Michael D. Higgins
Independent

Elected President

Michael D. Higgins
Independent

The 2018 Irish presidential election took place on Friday, 26 October, between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. [2] President Michael D. Higgins, who was elected in 2011 with the support of the Labour Party, was seeking re-election to a second term as an Independent. [3] This was the first time since the 1966 election that an incumbent president faced a contest for a second term. Higgins was re-elected on the first count with nearly 56% of the vote, becoming the first president since Éamon de Valera to win a second term in a contested election (Patrick Hillery in 1983 and Mary McAleese in 2004 had been re-elected unopposed). [4] He was inaugurated for his second term on 11 November.

Contents

The election was held on the same date as a referendum on blasphemy. [5]

Procedure

To stand for election as president, candidates must:

If a member of the Oireachtas or a County or City council nominate more than one candidate, only the first nomination paper received from them will be deemed valid. [6] Presidential elections are conducted in line with Article 12 of the Constitution [7] and under the Presidential Elections Act 1993, as amended. [6] The President of Ireland is elected through Instant-runoff voting. [8] All Irish citizens entered on the current electoral register are eligible to vote. [7] Under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2011, there is a spending limit by each candidate of €750,000. Candidates who are elected or who reach 12.5% of the vote on their elimination are entitled to a reimbursement of expenses up to €200,000. [9]

Nomination process

On 28 August the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy, signed the order for the presidential election, specifying the nomination period as between 10 a.m. on 30 August and 12 noon on 26 September 2018. [2]

On 10 July 2018, incumbent president Michael D. Higgins declared that he would exercise his right to nominate himself as a candidate for the presidential election. [10] [11] [3] Higgins had said in 2011 that he intended to serve one term only, but changed his mind over the course of his term. [12] Higgins's website and social media accounts became active on 17 September, having been dormant since his inauguration in November 2011. [13] He formally nominated himself on 24 September. [3]

Sinn Féin was the only party to select a candidate. With 28 Oireachtas members (22 TDs and six Senators), the party could nominate a candidate without the need for additional nominations from independents to reach the requirement of 20 Oireachtas members, as they had required in 2011. Nearly all other parties in the Oireachtas supported the re-election of Michael D. Higgins. People Before Profit declined to support any candidate in the election. [14] Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice had tried to gather the support of other Independent TDs and Senators to support a candidate, but was unsuccessful. Nineteen were willing to be involved in his effort to find a candidate, one short of the twenty required to be nominated. [15] Eleven Oireachtas members signed a nomination form for Gemma O'Doherty, nine short of the required number. [16]

18 local authorities passed resolutions supporting a particular candidate, while the remaining 13 either passed no resolution or passed a resolution declining to nominate any candidate. Candidates needed the support of at least four local authorities to be a candidate in the election.

NameOccupationResolutionsCouncils
Peter Casey Businessman4 Clare, [17] Kerry, [18] [19] Limerick, [18] [20] Tipperary [18] [21] [22]
Gavin Duffy Businessman4 Meath, Carlow, Wicklow, Waterford [23]
Joan Freeman Senator 4 Cork City, [17] Fingal, [24] Galway County, [18] [25] Galway City [26]
Seán Gallagher Businessman5 Roscommon, [18] [25] Mayo, [18] [25] Leitrim, [27] Wexford, [28] Cavan [29]
Gemma O'Doherty Journalist1 Laois [30] [31]
No candidate13 Dublin City, [32] Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, [33] Louth, [34] Kilkenny, [33] Monaghan, [33] Offaly, [33] South Dublin, [35] Westmeath, [33] Kildare, [30] Cork County, Donegal, Longford, Sligo

Others who had sought a nomination from local authorities were: Norma Burke, [32] William Delaney, Patrick Feeney, John Groarke, Patrick Melly, Marie Goretti Moylan, Sarah Louise Mulligan, Kevin Sharkey, James Smyth, [25] David Doucette, [36] and John O'Hare. [37] Sharkey withdrew his name from consideration during the nomination period, calling for the nomination of Gemma O'Doherty. [38] Senator Gerard Craughwell had said that he would seek the nomination if Higgins were otherwise to be unopposed. [39] [40] However, in July he announced that he would not contest the presidential election, in light of Sinn Féin's decision to run a candidate. [41] He also cited the financial costs of running for the presidency as a factor in his decision not to contest the election. [42] Despite Fianna Fáil support for the incumbent Michael D. Higgins, a few of the party's Councillors urged the leadership to nominate Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív, but he declined to allow his name to proceed as he would risk his party membership. [43]

Candidates

Six candidates contested the presidential election, having been selected by their parties or having received sufficient council nominations.

Debates

Irish presidential election debates, 2018
Date BroadcasterModerator Participants
 P Participant   A Absent invitee   Casey Duffy Freeman Gallagher Higgins Ní Riada
27 September [52] RTÉ Radio 1 Áine Lawlor PPPA [lower-alpha 1] A [lower-alpha 1] P
13 October [53] RTÉ Radio 1 Cormac Ó hEadhraPPPPPP
15 October [54] RTÉ One TV Claire Byrne PPPA [lower-alpha 1] A [lower-alpha 1] P
17 October [54] Virgin Media One Pat Kenny PPPPPP
23 October [54] RTÉ One TV David McCullagh PPPPPP
24 October [54] Virgin Media One Matt Cooper / Ivan Yates PPPPAP
  1. 1 2 3 4 Higgins did not participate due to scheduling conflicts, and Gallagher did not participate because Higgins did not take part.

Opinion and exit polling

Last date
of polling		Polling firm / Commissioner Casey Duffy Freeman Gallagher Higgins Ní Riada
24 August 2018Ireland Thinks/ Irish Daily Mail [55] [lower-alpha 1] 10%3%11%65%11% [lower-alpha 2]
16 September 2018 RED C/ The Sunday Business Post [56] 1%6%3%15%67%7% [lower-alpha 2]
10 October 2018Red C/Paddy Power [57] 1%4%6%14%70%5%
12 October 2018Ipsos MRBI/ The Irish Times [58] 2%4%5%12%66%11%
16 October 2018Behaviour & Attitudes/ The Sunday Times [59] 2%4%6%11%69%7%
Exit polls
26 October 2018Red C/RTÉ [60] 20.7%2.0%6.3%5.5%58.1%7.4%
26 October 2018Ipsos MRBI/ The Irish Times [61] 21%2%6%7%56%8%
  1. ↑ Poll conducted before Casey's candidacy was announced.
  2. 1 2 Figure for "Sinn Féin candidate". Poll conducted before Ní Riada's candidacy was announced.

Result

The count began at 09:00 on Saturday 27 October.

2018 Irish presidential election [62]
CandidateNominated by % 1st PrefCount 1
Michael D. Higgins Himself as incumbent president55.81822,566
Peter Casey County and City Councils 23.25342,727
Seán Gallagher County and City Councils6.4194,514
Liadh Ní Riada Oireachtas: Sinn Féin6.3893,987
Joan Freeman County and City Councils5.9687,908
Gavin Duffy County and City Councils2.1832,198
Electorate: 3,401,681  Valid: 1,473,900  Spoilt: 18,438  Quota: 736,951  Turnout: 1,492,338 (43.9%)
First preference vote
Higgins
 
55.8%
Casey
 
23.3%
Gallagher
 
6.4%
Ní Riada
 
6.4%
Freeman
 
6.0%
Duffy
 
2.2%

Constituency results

First preference votes by constituency [63]
Constituency Higgins Casey Gallagher Ní Riada Freeman Duffy
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%
Carlow–Kilkenny 25,71752.0%13,92928.2%3,5067.1%2,4194.9%2,6365.3%1,2652.6%
Cavan–Monaghan 16,74944.3%7,02318.6%6,77117.9%4,16711.0%2,0635.5%1,0002.6%
Clare 22,63954.7%11,72228.3%2,2895.5%2,1865.3%1,9694.8%6171.5%
Cork East 20,38853.6%9,34024.5%2,6256.9%2,7057.1%2,2836.0%7161.9%
Cork North-Central 18,85154.0%8,38224.0%1,9775.7%3,1128.9%2,0105.8%5451.6%
Cork North-West 17,63851.5%8,09223.6%3,1999.3%2,8248.2%1,8555.4%6301.8%
Cork South-Central 24,16160.5%7,32318.3%2,1645.4%3,0727.7%2,5546.4%6421.6%
Cork South-West 16,86055.1%6,58221.5%2,3747.8%2,4898.1%1,6355.3%6802.2%
Donegal 15,05238.1%12,95232.8%3,6849.3%4,52411.4%2,5636.5%7471.9%
Dublin Bay South 20,76571.5%3,43311.8%1,1163.8%1,2214.2%1,8846.5%6262.2%
Dublin Bay North 32,19863.9%8,00915.9%2,5005.0%3,3156.6%3,3726.7%1,0102.0%
Dublin Central 10,09466.7%1,69211.2%5293.5%1,74911.6%8685.7%2031.3%
Dublin Fingal 27,03963.1%7,50517.5%2,3695.5%2,2905.3%2,6436.2%9862.3%
Dublin Mid-West 17,19659.3%5,12817.7%1,4334.9%1,9786.8%2,7349.4%5261.8%
Dublin North-West 14,72862.6%3,73715.9%1,1214.8%1,9328.2%1,5466.6%4511.9%
Dublin Rathdown 21,70468.7%4,38513.9%1,4874.7%1,1413.6%2,1776.9%7112.2%
Dublin South-Central 17,93065.0%3,79413.8%1,1054.0%2,2828.3%2,0397.4%4411.6%
Dublin South-West 28,15162.2%8,32418.4%2,2374.9%2,5845.7%3,0116.7%9292.1%
Dublin West 17,54562.1%4,88717.3%1,4305.1%1,8426.5%2,0537.3%5141.8%
Dún Laoghaire 31,51370.2%5,87213.1%2,0444.6%1,5963.6%2,8666.4%1,0002.2%
Galway East 18,01153.4%11,22733.3%1,3794.1%1,0293.1%1,5454.6%5161.5%
Galway West 29,61262.4%10,82122.8%1,7833.8%2,1614.6%2,4455.1%6601.4%
Kerry 25,07850.1%13,75227.5%2,8565.7%4,2538.5%3,1026.2%1,0372.1%
Kildare North 23,10361.3%7,21019.1%2,2586.0%1,5234.0%2,7517.3%8442.2%
Kildare South 14,76656.9%5,81922.4%1,8297.0%1,3075.0%1,6196.2%6332.4%
Laois 13,75449.8%8,41930.5%1,8456.7%1,4435.2%1,4645.3%7182.6%
Limerick County 15,26248.1%10,86534.2%1,7565.5%1,4384.5%1,7625.6%6582.1%
Limerick City 18,90457.7%7,84523.9%1,5574.8%1,9646.0%1,9175.9%5781.8%
Longford–Westmeath 18,02447.5%12,00531.6%2,8737.6%2,0895.5%2,1225.6%8292.2%
Louth 26,29158.4%7,22316.0%2,9346.5%4,1759.3%2,2915.1%2,1014.7%
Mayo 20,64249.8%12,85031.0%2,2355.4%2,1075.1%2,6636.4%9372.3%
Meath East 16,75456.7%6,06420.5%2,0607.0%1,6545.6%1,8836.4%1,1423.9%
Meath West 14,52254.1%5,91722.0%1,9437.2%1,8476.9%1,7276.4%9043.4%
Offaly 13,97747.0%9,25331.1%2,6729.0%1,4444.9%1,6915.7%6732.3%
Roscommon–Galway 14,24645.1%10,91834.5%2,2707.2%1,6175.1%1,8505.9%7132.3%
Sligo–Leitrim 20,60149.1%11,13226.5%3,7498.9%3,1727.6%2,4755.9%8592.0%
Tipperary 24,91745.5%20,14936.8%3,0775.6%2,8275.2%2,7235.0%1,1062.0%
Waterford 18,60952.2%8,82224.7%2,5307.1%2,8378.0%2,0255.7%8472.4%
Wexford 27,02055.5%11,81824.3%3,4997.2%2,9396.0%2,2724.7%1,1612.4%
Wicklow 31,55563.0%8,50717.0%3,4496.9%2,7335.5%2,8205.6%1,0432.1%
Total822,56655.8%342,72723.3%94,5146.4%93,9876.4%87,9086.0%32,1982.2%

Analysis

The Irish Times's analysis of its exit poll data said that Michael D. Higgins seemed on course to be comfortably re-elected on the first count, after leading in the opinion polls throughout the campaign, despite "considerable criticism over his use of the Government jet, expensive hotel accommodation on overseas visits and the lack of transparency over how an annual €300,000 allowance for his office was spent". [61] It attributed the expected low turnout to "a lack of public enthusiasm for the contest that was evident throughout the campaign". [61]

It ascribed Peter Casey's second place to a late surge of support following his criticisms of Travellers and his claim that Ireland had "a growing culture of welfare dependency", and it added that at some polling stations pollsters reported that "he was attracting as many voters as Mr Higgins". [61] It said that Seán Gallagher appeared to be down 22% on his 2011 figure of 29%, but that the biggest disappointment would probably be for Sinn Féin, whose candidate Liadh Ní Riada's expected 8% was well down on its general election result, and only a third of the party's support in the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI Opinion poll. [61] It described Senator Joan Freeman's expected performance as "just 6 per cent of the vote", and Gavin Duffy's expected result as him having "flopped completely, ending a miserable campaign with just 2 per cent of the vote". [61]

When analysing the Red C/RTÉ exit poll, [60] RTÉ Political Correspondent Martina Fitzgerald said that the data showed that President Higgins was very popular among voters regardless of age and gender but was particularly popular among women and younger votes despite the debate about his age, which most voters saw as irrelevant. The most important factor cited by voters was the candidates' track record and expertise, while the finances and salary of the president were the least important factor. [64]

Fitzgerald added that "the real political story" was that the result was "a disastrous election" for Sinn Féin, and "a serious blow" for which party leader Mary Lou McDonald would have to take "full responsibility". [64] Fitzgerald also noted that the combined total of the three former Dragons Den judges (Casey, Gallagher, and Duffy) was very similar to Gallagher's vote in 2011, suggesting that vote had held up, but that Casey had taken most of it this time. [64]

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References

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  20. ↑ O'Carroll, Sinead (18 September 2018). "Peter Casey is on the presidential election ballot paper as he receives 4th council nomination". TheJournal.ie . Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
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