IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: Ireland

4,847,139	21
Population (as of Feb. 8, 2019)	Elections in our database
3,502,044	54.77%
Registered Voters (as of April 13, 2020)	Average Turnout

Name	Official Name	Type
Irish Senate	Seanad Éireann	Upper House
Irish House of Representatives	Dáil Éireann	Lower House
Presidency of Ireland	None	Head of State

Chief of State: President Michael D. HIGGINS
Head of Government: Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Leo VARADKAR
Assembly: Ireland has a bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) consisting of the Senate (Seanad Éireann) with 60 seats and the House of Representatives (Dáil Éireann) with 166 seats.

The President is elected by a majority system with preferential vote to serve a 7-year term. The presidential term is renewable once. The electoral system is alternative vote. The President is a member of Parliament ex officio.
The Prime Minister (Taoiseach) is nominated by the House of Represenatives and appointed by the President.
In the Senate (Seanad Éireann), 43 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 5-year terms, 11 members are appointed by the prime minister to serve 5-year terms and 6 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 5-year terms.
- 43 members are elected by five panels representing vocational interests. 6 are elected by graduates of two colleges.
In the House of Representatives (Dáil Éireann) 166 members are elected through a single transferable vote (STV) proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms. One seat is reserved for the Speaker of the House. There are 43 multi-member districts with magnitudes from 3 to 5.

Election For	Date	Votes	Registered Voters	Turn Out
Referendum	1998-05-22	1,545,395	2,741,262	56.38%
Referendum	2002-03-06	1,247,526	2,741,262	45.51%
Irish House of Representatives	2002-05-18	1,878,609	3,002,173	62.57%
Referendum	2002-10-19	1,446,588	2,923,918	49.47%
Irish House of Representatives	2007-05-24	2,085,245	3,110,914	67.03%
Referendum	2008-06-12	1,621,037	3,051,278	53.13%
Referendum	2009-10-02	1,816,098	3,078,132	59.0%
Irish House of Representatives	2011-02-25	2,243,176	3,209,177	69.9%
Referendum	2011-10-27	1,785,707	3,191,157	55.96%
Presidency of Ireland	2011-10-27	1,790,438	3,191,157	56.11%
Referendum	2012-05-31	1,591,385	3,144,828	50.6%
Referendum	2012-11-10	1,066,239	3,183,686	33.49%
Referendum	2013-10-04	1,240,729	3,167,384	39.17%
Referendum	2015-05-22	1,949,438	3,221,681	60.51%
Referendum	2015-05-22	1,949,725	3,221,681	60.52%
Irish House of Representatives	2016-02-26	2,132,795	3,202,442	66.6%
Referendum	2018-05-25	2,159,655	3,367,556	64.13%
Presidency of Ireland	2018-10-26	1,473,900	3,401,681	43.33%
Referendum	2018-10-26	1,467,458	3,401,681	43.14%
Referendum	2019-05-24	1,727,056	3,397,636	50.83%
Irish House of Representatives	2020-02-08	2,202,192	3,502,044	62.88%