The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann) is Ireland’s Head of State and is elected for a term of seven years. The president can run for re-election and may serve a maximum of two terms. President Michael D Higgins has now served two terms – he was first elected in November, 2011, and was re-elected in October, 2018.
Who can be president of Ireland?
To be eligible to run in the election, you must be an Irish citizen aged 35 years or older.
The much trickier part is that, to qualify to be a candidate, you must be nominated by one of the following:
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- 20 members of the Oireachtas (there are 174 TDs and 60 Senators).
- At least four local authorities (Ireland has 31 local authorities – 26 county councils, three city councils, and two councils, Limerick and Waterford, that oversee a city and a county).
- Former or retiring presidents can nominate themselves.
Who wanted to be a candidate for this presidential election?
It is relatively easy to be a candidate in other Irish elections, such as those to elect a county councillor or TD. However, because of the restrictive nomination process for the Irish presidency, many candidates fail before their presidential campaign has a chance to get going at all.
Over the past year, many names were linked to a run for the office. Some would deny they ever considered it seriously; others would actively campaign for a nomination.
The list included Billy Kelleher, Mary Hanafin and Bertie Ahern of Fianna Fáil; Seán Kelly of Fine Gael; Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Féin, as well as others, including Maria Steen, Gareth Sheridan, Michael Flatley, Joanna Donnelly, Tony Holohan and Conor McGregor.
Originally, Mairead McGuinness was the Fine Gael choice for the presidential race. However, on medical advice, she dropped out in August.
Okay, so who are the candidates?
It’s a very small field in the race to be the 10th president of Ireland.
- Catherine Connolly, who is supported by several parties, including Sinn Féin, Labour, Social Democrats, Green Party and People Before Profit.
- Jim Gavin, who has the backing of Fianna Fáil.
- Heather Humphreys, who was nominated by Fine Gael.
How much does a campaign cost?
Each candidate has a spending limit of €750,000. Any candidate who gets at least 25 per cent of the quota in the election can be reimbursed up to €250,000 from the State. There are also strict limits on the value of donations to candidates.
Much of the money is spent on newspaper, radio, television and online advertisements and, of course, thousands of election posters dotted around the country. Candidate posters can be displayed from 30 days before the election and should be removed within seven days of election day (ie, the posters should all be down by the start of November).
In good news for the candidates, each is entitled to send one election letter, free of postage charge, to each household in the State.
When is the election?
Polling will take place on Friday, October 24th, between 7am and 10pm.
And who can vote?
To vote in a presidential election, you must be:
- An Irish citizen.
- At least 18 years old.
- Ordinarily resident in Ireland (there are some exceptions to this).
- Registered to vote.
In November, 2004, an election was not held because president Mary McAleese was the only candidate and so was inaugurated for a second term without an election campaign.
[ Michael McDowell: Why I didn’t nominate Maria Steen for the presidencyOpens in new window ]
How do I check I’m on the register?
The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming presidential election is Tuesday, October 7th. So, well, if you haven’t checked already, do so right now.
The easiest way to check is to go to checktheregister.ie and type in your details (eircode, name, etc). It is worth trying a few variations of your name, as sometimes people find they are registered but there’s a small spelling mistake, etc.
If you are not registered, you will need your PPSN (Personal Public Service Number) to register online.
Also, if you are not yet 18 years old and can’t vote in this election, but you are 16 or 17, you can pre-register on the site and your name will be automatically added to the register when you turn 18.
The deadline for special or postal voting passed at the end of September. While it is most associated with Irish diplomats posted abroad and members of the Defence Forces, it is also useful for others, such as a student who is living away from home and cannot get home on polling day to vote. But you need to be organised and apply for a postal vote about a month in advance of polling day.
So you now know for next time!
Accessibility
Apart from postal voting, there is also a provision for voters who, on the day of polling, are residing in facilities such as a hospital or nursing home and are unable to go to a polling station. A ballot paper is delivered to them by a Special Presiding Officer.
In addition, each Local Returning Officer publishes a list of polling stations that are not accessible to wheelchair users, so a voter can ask to transfer a vote to another (accessible) polling station. On polling day, someone with a physical disability, visual impairment, or reading or writing difficulty, may be assisted in voting by the Presiding Officer or by a companion.
How do you vote?
After arriving at the polling station, a voter is handed a ballot paper with the candidates’ names listed on it. (You may be required to show ID.)
Voting is by secret ballot and based on proportional representation by the single transferable vote, which Irish people are generally well used to; ie, you mark 1, 2, 3 (you can stop at 1, 2 or 3).
The voter then folds the ballot paper places it in the ballot box.
Duty done.
How does the count work?
The counting will begin the day after voting – the morning of Saturday, October 25th. First, the ballot boxes are opened and papers are sorted in order of first-preference votes. Any spoiled ballots (eg, a voter, in protest, writing the name of someone who is not on the ballot sheet) are placed to one side.
The number of valid first-preference votes for each candidate is notified to the returning officer, who then calculates the quota. Because there is just one seat, we know the quota will be 50 per cent of the total valid poll, plus one vote. (For example, if the valid poll – total poll minus spoiled votes – was 1 million, the quota would be 500,001.
If none of the three candidates gets more than 50 per cent of the votes, the candidate with the lowest number of first preferences will be excluded and their votes will be transferred to the next preference.
There are no guarantees when it comes to counting ballots in Ireland, but it is likely the result will be known by Saturday evening.
The new president will be inaugurated at a ceremony in Dublin Castle the following afternoon.
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What is the role of the President of Ireland?
Article 13 of the Irish Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann, outlines the powers and functions of the president.
The main things are:
- The president represents the people of Ireland at home and abroad through public engagements and speeches.
- The president appoints the Taoiseach, after they have been nominated by the Dáil, and members of the Government, after they have been nominated by the Taoiseach.
- The president summons or dissolves the Dáil on the advice of the Taoiseach (the president may also refuse to dissolve the Dáil.)
- The president accepts the resignation or termination of appointment of any member of the Government, on the advice of the Taoiseach.
- The president can call fresh elections where a Taoiseach no longer has the support of the Dáil.
- Every proposed new Bill, which has been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, must be signed by the president before it comes into effect as a new law.
- The president can refer Bills to the Supreme Court if there is a concern that they may be in conflict with the Constitution.
- The president is the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces (but does not have military command).
Can a president be removed?
There are two situations in which a president may be removed from office.
- If five Supreme Court judges or more decide that a president has become permanently incapacitated.
- The president is impeached by either House of the Oireachtas for “stated misbehaviour” (eg, a criminal offence or a misuse of the president’s powers).
I’ve heard the term ‘Aide-de-Camp’
Military officers, the Aides-de-Camp assist with day-to-day presidential duties, accompany the president on official public engagements in Ireland and abroad, and also represent the president at events such as State occasions and high-profile funerals.
Áras an Uachtaráin
The president (and family) live at Áras an Uachtaráin, which was built in 1751 and has been used as the official residence of the President of Ireland since 1938. Each year, thousands of people visit the house and grounds at Phoenix Park as guests at the many functions hosted by the president.
A light constantly shines from an upstairs window in Áras an Uachtaráin. First introduced by former president Mary Robinson, it is a symbol for Irish emigrant families.
