Elections in the Republic of 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 state (see below).

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 a quota-based 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.

Governments and elections have been dominated by two main parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The electoral system provides for a form of proportional representation, with the consequence that coalition government has become the norm in recent decades. At present there are seven parties in the Oireachtas and a number of non-party representatives.

Eligibility to vote

Residents of the state 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 Parliament election, while any resident, regardless of citizenship, may participate in local election.

Entitlement to vote, based on citizenship:

General election results since 1923

Irish general election,......
Read More