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Ireland is a parliamentary, representative democratic republic and a member state of the European Union. While the head of state is the popularly elected President of Ireland, it is a largely ceremonial position, with real political power being vested in the Taoiseach, who is nominated by the Dáil and is the head of the government.
The president of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces.
The Ceann Comhairle is the chairperson of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the Dáil from among their number in the first session after each general election. The Ceann Comhairle since 10 March 2016 has been Seán Ó Fearghaíl, Fianna Fáil TD. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle since 23 July 2020 has been Catherine Connolly, Independent TD.
The 1938 Irish presidential election was the first Irish presidential election, held to fill the new office of President of Ireland.
The 1945 Irish presidential election was held on Thursday, 14 June 1945. It was Ireland's first contested presidential election. Outgoing president Douglas Hyde, who had served since 1938, decided not to seek a second term. Fianna Fáil nominated its deputy leader, Tánaiste Seán T. O'Kelly, as its candidate. Fine Gael nominated Seán Mac Eoin. Independent republican Patrick McCartan sought and failed to receive the necessary four nominations from local councils, but secured a nomination from Oireachtas members.
In the 1952 Irish presidential election the outgoing president Seán T. O'Kelly was re-elected without a contest.
The 1959 Irish presidential election was held on Wednesday, 17 June 1959. Éamon de Valera, then Taoiseach, was elected as president of Ireland. A referendum proposed by de Valera to replace the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote with first-past-the-post voting which was held on the same day was defeated by 48.2% to 51.8%.
In the 1983 Irish presidential election outgoing President Patrick Hillery agreed under enormous political pressure to seek a second term. Though former Nobel Peace Prize and Lenin Peace Prize winner Seán MacBride made it known in the Sunday Press that he wanted to contest the office, only Hillery was nominated and was declared re-elected without the need for a poll.
The vice president of India is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the order of precedence and first in the line of succession to the presidency. The vice president is also the ex officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Dáil Éireann served as the directly elected lower house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1937. The Free State constitution described the role of the house as that of a "Chamber of Deputies". Until 1936 the Free State Oireachtas also included an upper house known as the Seanad. Like its modern successor, the Free State Dáil was, in any case, the dominant component of the legislature; it effectively had authority to enact almost any law it chose, and to appoint and dismiss the President of the Executive Council. The Free State Dáil ceased to be with the creation of the modern 'Dáil Éireann' under the terms of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland. Both the Dáil and Seanad sat in Leinster House.
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The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State was the legislature of the Irish Free State from 1922 until 1937. It was established by the 1922 Constitution of Ireland which was based from the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was the first independent Irish Parliament officially recognised outside Ireland since the historic Parliament of Ireland which was abolished with the Acts of Union 1800.
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Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann.
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas, which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann. It consists of 160 members, each known as a Teachta Dála. TDs represent 39 constituencies and are directly elected for terms not exceeding five years, on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). Its powers are similar to those of lower houses under many other bicameral parliamentary systems and it is by far the dominant branch of the Oireachtas. Subject to the limits imposed by the Constitution of Ireland, it has power to pass any law it wishes, and to nominate and remove the Taoiseach. Since 1922, it has met in Leinster House in Dublin.
Various proposals have been considered since the 1980s to extend the franchise in Irish presidential elections to citizens resident outside the state. In 2019, the then government introduced a bill to amend the constitution to facilitate this extension. The bill lapsed in January 2020 when the 32nd Dáil was dissolved for the 2020 general election, but was restored to the order paper in July 2020.
An indirect election to the 26th Seanad took place after the 2020 Irish general election, with postal ballots due on 30 and 31 March. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as the lower house of representatives. The election was held for 49 of the 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 are elected for five vocational panels, and six are elected in two university constituencies. The remaining 11 senators are nominated by the newly elected Taoiseach when the Dáil reconvenes after the general election.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Article 12 of the Constitution of Ireland. "Constitution of Ireland". Department of the Taoiseach. June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- 1 2 "Presidential Elections Act 1993" (PDF). Irish Presidential Election. Presidential Returning Officer. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ↑ "Electing a President – Preferential Voting". ACE: The Electoral Knowledge Network. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- ↑ Constitution Review Group (1996). "Article XII – XIV The President". Report (PDF). Government of Ireland. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ↑ The 1995 report of the Constitution Review Group notes "There is an apparent discrepancy between the English and Irish versions. The Irish version has ‘ag a bhfuil cúig bliana tríochad slán’ (that is, has completed thirty-five years), whereas the English version is ‘who has reached his thirty-fifth year of age’, which could mean has entered rather than completed that year." As the Irish language text prevails, this means a candidate must be at least 35 years old
- ↑ "Presidential Election in Ireland". Citizens Information Board Ireland. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ↑ "How the President is elected" (PDF). Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. August 2011.
