Irish presidential election

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The Irish presidential election determines who serves as the President of Ireland, the head of state of Ireland. The last election took place on 26 October 2018. Where only one candidate is nominated, that candidate is declared elected without a ballot; this has occurred on six occasions.

Contents

Procedure

Presidential elections are conducted in line with Article 12 of the Constitution of Ireland [1] and under the Presidential Elections Act 1993, as amended. [2] An election is ordinarily held not more than 60 days before the scheduled ending of the incumbent's seven-year term of office. In case of a casual vacancy (by death, resignation or removal from office) an election is held within 60 days. The dates during which candidates may be nominated and the date of the election are fixed by an order made by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

All Irish citizens may vote in presidential elections if they have the right to vote in elections to Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas or parliament). [1] [3] The voting age is eighteen. The Dáil electoral register is based on residency within a geographical Dáil constituency, so that those living abroad may not vote, except diplomats and military posted overseas. Resident UK citizens may vote in Dáil elections but not presidential elections. A proposed constitutional amendment would give non-resident citizens a vote in presidential elections.

Elections are conducted by means of the instant-runoff voting, which is the single-winner analogue of the single transferable vote used in other Irish elections. The constitution calls the system "proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote", although a single-seat election cannot be proportional. [4]

To qualify, candidates must: [1]

The election order will declare the last day on which nominations may be received. 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. [2]

If there is only a single candidate they will be deemed elected without a poll. [1] No one may serve as President for more than two terms. [1]

Spending limits and donations

The spending limits in a Presidential election were reduced in 2011. The limit is €750,000 (was €1.3 million) and the amount a candidate can be reimbursed from the State is €200,000 (was €260,000). [6] A candidate who is elected or who receives in excess of one quarter of the quota can seek reimbursement of their expenses.

The value of donations that may be accepted by candidates, their election agents and third parties at a presidential election is governed by law. In the case of candidates and presidential election agents, the maximum donation that may be accepted from a person (or a body) in a particular year cannot exceed €2,539. In the case of a third party, the maximum donation that may be accepted cannot exceed €6,348. The acceptance of donations from non-Irish citizens residing abroad is prohibited. [7]

Results

ElectionCandidateAgeNominated by1st Pref.Winner
Votes%
1938 Douglas Hyde 78Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael n/an/aDouglas Hyde
1945 Patrick McCartan 67Oireachtas: Labour Party and Clann na Talmhan 212,83419.6%Seán T. O'Kelly
Seán Mac Eoin 51Oireachtas: Fine Gael and Independent TDs 335,53930.9%
Seán T. O'Kelly 62Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil 537,96549.5%
1952 Seán T. O'Kelly 69Self-nominationn/an/aSeán T. O'Kelly
1959 Éamon de Valera 76Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil 538,00356.3%Éamon de Valera
Seán Mac Eoin 65Oireachtas: Fine Gael 417,53643.7%
1966 Éamon de Valera 83Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil 558,86150.5%Éamon de Valera
Tom O'Higgins 49Oireachtas: Fine Gael 548,14449.5%
1973 Erskine H. Childers 60Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil 635,86751.9%Erskine H. Childers
Tom O'Higgins 56Oireachtas: Fine Gael 587,77148.0%
1974 Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh 63Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Party n/an/aCearbhall Ó Dálaigh
1976 Patrick Hillery 53Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil n/an/aPatrick Hillery
1983 Patrick Hillery 60Self-nominationn/an/aPatrick Hillery
1990 Austin Currie 51Oireachtas: Fine Gael 267,90217.0%Mary Robinson
Brian Lenihan 59Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil 694,48444.1%
Mary Robinson 46Oireachtas: Labour Party and Workers' Party 612,26538.9%
1997 Mary Banotti 58Oireachtas: Fine Gael372,00229.3%Mary McAleese
Mary McAleese 46Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats 574,42445.2%
Derek Nally 60 County and City Councils 59,5294.7%
Adi Roche 42Oireachtas: Labour Party, Democratic Left and Green Party 88,4236.9%
Dana Rosemary Scallon 46 County and City Councils 175,45813.8%
2004 Mary McAleese 53Self-nominationn/an/aMary McAleese
2011 Mary Davis 57 County and City Councils 48,6572.7%Michael D. Higgins
Seán Gallagher 49 County and City Councils 504,96428.5%
Michael D. Higgins 70Oireachtas: Labour Party 701,10139.6%
Martin McGuinness 61Oireachtas: Sinn Féin and Independent TDs 243,03013.7%
Gay Mitchell 59Oireachtas: Fine Gael 113,3216.4%
David Norris 67 County and City Councils 109,4696.2%
Dana Rosemary Scallon 60 County and City Councils 51,2202.9%
2018 Peter Casey 60 County and City Councils 342,72723.3%Michael D. Higgins
Seán Gallagher 56 County and City Councils 94,5146.4%
Gavin Duffy 58 County and City Councils 32,1982.2%
Joan Freeman 60 County and City Councils 87,9086.0%
Michael D. Higgins 77Self-nomination822,56655.8%
Liadh Ní Riada 51Oireachtas: Sinn Féin 93,9876.4%

Election dates and forms of nomination

Table legend:
Oir = Oireachtas
CC = County or city council

YearMinisterial OrderClose of NominationsNominationsElection dateInauguration
Oir.CCSelf
1938 14 April4 May10031 May25 June
1945 16 May30014 June25 June
1952 25 April16 May00110 June25 June
1959 27 April19 May20017 June25 June
1966 27 April10 May2001 June25 June
1973 25 April8 May20030 May25 June
1974 10017 November19 December
1976 1002 October3 December
1983 7 October21 October00123 November3 December
1990 16 October3007 November3 December
1997 15 September30 September32030 October11 November
2004 13 September1 October00122 October11 November
2011 30 August28 September34027 October11 November
2018 28 August26 September14126 October11 November

Election dates in italics indicate dates which were set in the ministerial order, but where no election was held as only one candidate had been nominated.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Article 12, "Constitution of Ireland". Irish Statute Book. Attorney General of Ireland.
  2. 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.
  3. ↑ "Electing a President – Preferential Voting". ACE: The Electoral Knowledge Network. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "Presidential Election in Ireland". Citizens Information Board Ireland. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  7. ↑ "How the President is elected" (PDF). Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. August 2011.
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