Irish presidential election
The Irish presidential election determines who serves as the President of Ireland, the head of state of Ireland. The last election took place on 27 October 2011 and the next election will take place on 26 October 2018.[1] Where only one candidate is nominated, that candidate is declared elected without a ballot; this has occurred on six occasions.
Procedure
Presidential elections are conducted in line with Article 12 of the Constitution[2] and under the Presidential Elections Act 1993, as amended.[3] 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 election must be held not more than 60 days before the ending of the term of office of the incumbent, or within 60 days of the office becoming vacant. 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, Planning and Local Government.
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, however, calls the system "proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote", although a single-seat election cannot be proportional.[4] All Irish citizens entered on the current electoral register are eligible to vote.[2][5] While both Irish and British citizens resident in the state may vote in elections to Dáil Éireann (the house of representatives in parliament), only Irish citizens of at least eighteen years of age may vote in the election of the President.
To qualify, candidates must:[2]
- be a citizen of Ireland,
- be at least 35 years of age, and[6]
- be nominated by:
- at least twenty of the 218 serving members of the Houses of the Oireachtas, or
- at least four of the 31 county or city Councils, or
- him- or herself, in the case of an incumbent or former president who has served one term.
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.[3]
If there is only a single candidate they will be deemed elected without a poll.[2] No one may serve as President for more than two terms.[2]
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).[7] 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.[8]
Results
The 2018 election will take place on 26 October.
Election dates and forms of nomination
Year | Ministerial Order | Close of Nominations | Nominations | Election date | Inauguration | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oir. | CC | Self | |||||
1938 | 14 April | 4 May | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 May | 25 June |
1945 | 16 June | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 June | 25 June | |
1952 | 25 April | 16 May | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 June | 25 June |
1959 | 27 April | 19 May | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 June | 25 June |
1966 | 27 April | 10 May | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 June | 25 June |
1973 | 25 April | 8 May | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 May | 25 June |
1974 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 November | 19 December | ||
1976 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 October | 3 December | ||
1983 | 7 November | 21 October | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 November | 3 December |
1990 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 November | 3 December | ||
1997 | 15 September | 30 September | 3 | 2 | 0 | 30 October | 11 November |
2004 | 13 September | 1 October | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 October | 11 November |
2011 | 30 August | 28 September | 3 | 4 | 0 | 27 October | 11 November |
2018 | 28 August | 26 September | 1 | 4 | 1 | 26 October | 11 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
- ↑ "Minister Murphy makes Presidential Election Order". Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- 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. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Electing a President – Preferential Voting". ACE: The Electoral Knowledge Network. Retrieved 7 August 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2007.