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Presidents (Government)

Catherine Connolly Elected Ireland's Tenth President in Landslide Victory

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Catherine Connolly, a 68-year-old independent backed by left-wing parties, has made history by becoming Ireland's tenth president in a polls that saw a significant number of spoilt ballots. Connolly secured an impressive 63.3 per cent of the valid first preference vote, while Heather Humphreys of Fine Gael and Jim Gavin of Fianna Fail trailed behind with 29.5 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively. Despite a low turnout of 45.8 per cent, the election saw a record number of spoilt ballots, with over 213,000 being cast.

Key Takeaways:

  • Catherine Connolly, an independent candidate backed by left-wing parties, won 63.3 per cent of the valid first preference vote in the presidential election.
  • Heather Humphreys of Fine Gael secured 29.5 per cent of the vote, while Jim Gavin of Fianna Fail received 7.1 per cent, despite withdrawing from the race.
  • The election saw a significant number of spoilt ballots, with over 213,000 being cast, representing 13 per cent of the total votes cast.
  • The turnout was 45.8 per cent, which is slightly above the 43.9 per cent recorded in the 2018 presidential election.
  • The high number of spoilt ballots has led to demands for a change to the constitutional rules governing the presidential election, with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin indicating that he is open to reform.
  • Connolly's victory speech emphasized the importance of embracing Ireland's identity, language, and diversity, and called for the creation of a new republic.

Statistics:

  • Catherine Connolly secured 914,143 votes in the presidential election.
  • Heather Humphreys received 424,987 votes, while Jim Gavin secured 103,568 votes.
  • The total number of votes cast was over 1.6 million.
  • The number of spoilt ballots was over 213,000, representing 13 per cent of the total votes cast.
  • The turnout in the election was 45.8 per cent, while the number of valid first preference votes was 4,421,543.

Sources:

  • [Irish Times]
  • [RTÉ News]
  • [The Journal]

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