General Information
At stake in this Referendum:
- Whether the constitution should be amended in order to enable ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon.
Description of government structure:
- Chief of State: President Mary MCALEESE *
- Head of Government: Prime Minister Brian COWEN
- 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**.
Description of electoral system:
- The President is elected by a majority system with preferential vote to serve a 7-year term.
- The Prime Minister (Taoiseach) is 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 President to serve 5-year terms and 6 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 5-year terms*. 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.**
* 43 members are elected by five panels representing vocational interests. Six are elected by graduates of two colleges.
** One seat is reserved for the Speaker of the House. There are 43 multi-member districts with magnitudes from 3 to 5.
Main provisions in the Referendum:
- Whether the constitution should be amended in order to enable ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon.
Population and number of registered voters:
- Population: 4,535,375 (2009)
- Registered Voters: 3,078,132 (October 2009)
Gender Data:
· Female Population: 2,274,574 (2009)
· Is Ireland a signatory to CEDAW: No
· Has Ireland ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (23 December 1985)
· Gender Quota: Yes
· Female candidates in this election: N/A
· Number of Female Parliamentarians: 22 (House of Representatives); 12 (Senate) (following the 2007 elections)
· Human Development Index Position: 6 (2014)
· Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A
Disability Data:
· Is Ireland a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
· Has Ireland ratified CRPD: No
· Population with a disability: 680,306 (est.)