General Information
At Stake in this Election:
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The Presidency of Ireland
Government Structure:
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Chief of State: President Michael D. HIGGINS (since 11 Nov 2011)
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Head of Government: Taoiseach Micheál MARTIN (since 11 Feb 2025)
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Assembly: bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) with 60-seat Senate (Seanad Éireann) and 174-seat House of Representatives (Dáil Éireann)
Electoral System:
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The President is elected through single transferable vote to a once renewable 7-year term.
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The Taoiseach is nominated by the House of representatives and approved by the President.
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49 members of the Senate are in-directly elected through an electoral college. Of those, 43 are chosen by panels of individuals of various industries and economic sectors. 3 are chosen by the National University of Ireland and 3 are chosen by the University of Dublin. The final 11 members are nominated by the Taoiseach and approved by the House of Representatives. All members are elected to a 5-year term.
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All 60 members of the House of Representatives are directly elected through single transferable vote in multimember constituencies to a 5-year term.
In the last election, in 2018, Michael HIGGINS, of a coalition of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and the Labour Party, won reelection with 55.8% of the vote. Voter turnout was 43%.
Information for Voters:
Presidential Election: Easy-to-Read Guide (in English)
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Candidate filing deadline: 24 Sept 2025
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Voter registration deadline: 7 Oct 2025
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Catherine Martina Ann CONNOLLY
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Party: Coalition of People Before Profit-Solidarity, the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, the Green Party, and Sinn Féin.
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Jim GAVIN
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Party: Fine Gael
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Heather HUMPHREYS
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Party: Fianna Fáil
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Population and Registered Voters:
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Population: 5,380,257 (2024 est.)
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Registered Voters: 3,502,044 (2020)
Gender Data:
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Female Population: 2,716,928 (2024 est.)
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CEDAW Status: Acceded 23 Dec 1985
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Gender Quota: Yes, at least 40% of candidates nominated by a party must be women and 40% must be men. Should a party not abide by this, their public funding is cut in half.
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Female Candidates in this election: Yes
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Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 27 out of 60 (45%) in the Senate and 44 out of 174 (25%) in the House of Representatives
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Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.949, Very High, Rank 11 (2023)
Disability Data:
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CRPD Status: Signed 30 Mar 2007, Ratified 20 Mar 2018
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Projected population with a disability: 860,841 (2024 est.)
IFES Resources:
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ElectionJudgments: Yes, 1 judgement