2020 Irish general election: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→‎Results: These line graphs do not display properly on some screens and we've stopped using them on lots of articles... Also, we've got way too many graphs/tables repeating the same info
→‎top: brief summary for lead.
(One intermediate revision by the same user not shown)
Line 158: Line 158:
}}
}}
The '''2020 Irish general election''' took place on Saturday, 8 February 2020. This was the first election since [[1918 Irish general election|1918]] to be held on a weekend instead of a weekday. The election was called following the dissolution of the [[Members of the 32nd Dáil|32nd Dáil]] by the [[President of Ireland|President]], at the request of [[Taoiseach]] [[Leo Varadkar]] on 14 January 2020. 159 of 160 [[Dáil Éireann]] seats were contested, with the outgoing [[Ceann Comhairle]] being re-elected automatically.
The '''2020 Irish general election''' took place on Saturday, 8 February 2020. This was the first election since [[1918 Irish general election|1918]] to be held on a weekend instead of a weekday. The election was called following the dissolution of the [[Members of the 32nd Dáil|32nd Dáil]] by the [[President of Ireland|President]], at the request of [[Taoiseach]] [[Leo Varadkar]] on 14 January 2020. 159 of 160 [[Dáil Éireann]] seats were contested, with the outgoing [[Ceann Comhairle]] being re-elected automatically.

The election resulted in a [[hung parliament]], with the three largest parties splitting the vote nearly evenly. [[Fianna Fáil]] secured the most seats, with 38, one more than the 37 of the second party [[Sinn Féin]], which itself had the most first preference votes of any party. [[Fine Gael]], the party of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar finished third in both number of seats (35) and first preference votes.


==Background==
==Background==
Line 531: Line 533:


==Results==
==Results==
{{see also|Members of the 33rd Dáil}}[[File:2020 Irish general election - FPV Results.svg|thumb|Map showing the party winning the most first preference votes in each constituency.]]Polls opened at 07:00 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] and closed at 22:00 UTC. Counting of the votes commenced at 09:00 UTC on 9 February and concluded at 23:59 UTC on 10 February, with [[Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency)|Cavan-Monaghan]] being the final constituency to report.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/election-2020-voters-go-to-the-polls-after-parties-hear-demand-for-change-1.4165709|title=Voters go to the polls after parties hear demand for change from electorate|work=The Irish Times|date=February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|url= https://www.thejournal.ie/ge2020-full-house-5002362-Feb2020/|title = Full house: Here are your 160 TDs elected in the 2020 general election|date=11 February 2020|work=The Journal|accessdate=11 February 2020}}</ref>
{{see also|Members of the 33rd Dáil}}[[File:2020 Irish general election - FPV Results.svg|thumb|Map showing the party winning the most first preference votes in each constituency.]]Polls opened at 07:00 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] and closed at 22:00 UTC. Counting of the votes commenced at 09:00 UTC on 9 February and concluded at 23:59 UTC on 10 February, with [[Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency)|Cavan-Monaghan]] being the final constituency to report.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/election-2020-voters-go-to-the-polls-after-parties-hear-demand-for-change-1.4165709|title=Voters go to the polls after parties hear demand for change from electorate|work=The Irish Times|date=February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|url= https://www.thejournal.ie/ge2020-full-house-5002362-Feb2020/|title = Full house: Here are your 160 TDs elected in the 2020 general election|date=11 February 2020|work=The Journal|accessdate=11 February 2020}}</ref>

The results of the election showed a close contest between three parties, with [[Fianna Fáil]] securing 38 seats in the [[Dáil Éireann]], which includes one seat held by the [[Ceann Comhairle]], whose seat is secured and is not contested. Second place in terms of seats was [[Sinn Féin]] which secured 37 seats, a gain of fifteen over the previous election. [[Fine Gael]], the party of [[Taoiseach]] [[Leo Varadkar]], lost twelve seats to drop to third place. Among the smaller parties, the [[Green Party (Ireland)|Green Party]] showed the largest gains, increasing from three to nine seats. In terms of popular vote, despite their close second place finish in terms of parliamentary seats, Sinn Féin received the most first preference votes nationwide, though no single party secured more than 25% of the first preference votes, nor more than 25% of the seats.
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
|-

Revision as of 16:58, 12 February 2020

2020 Irish general election
← 2016 8 February 2020 Next →
159 of 160 seats in Dáil Éireann[a]
80 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout62.9% Decrease 2.2pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Micheál Martin Mary Lou McDonald Leo Varadkar
Party Fianna Fáil Sinn Féin Fine Gael
Leader since 26 January 2011 10 February 2018 2 June 2017
Leader's seat Cork South-Central Dublin Central Dublin West
Last election 44 seats, 24.3% 23 seats, 13.8% 50 seats, 25.5%
Seats before 45 22 47
Seats won 38[a] 37 35
Seat change Decrease 7 Increase 15 Decrease 12
Popular vote 484,320 535,595 455,584
Percentage 22.2% 24.5% 20.9%
Swing Decrease 2.1% Increase 10.7% Decrease 4.7%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Eamon Ryan Brendan Howlin Catherine Murphy
Róisín Shortall
Party Green Labour Social Democrats
Leader since 27 May 2011 20 May 2016 15 July 2015
Leader's seat Dublin Bay South Wexford Kildare North
Dublin North-West
Last election 2 seats, 2.7% 7 seats, 6.6% 3 seats, 3.0%
Seats before 3 7 2
Seats won 12 6 6
Seat change Increase 9 Decrease 1 Increase 4
Popular vote 155,700 95,588 63,404
Percentage 7.1% 4.4% 2.9%
Swing Increase 4.4% Decrease 2.2% Decrease 0.1%
  Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party
 
S-PBP
I4C
Leader Collective leadership Peadar Tóibín None
Party Solidarity–PBP Aontú Inds. 4 Change
Leader since n/a 28 January 2019 n/a
Leader's seat n/a Meath West n/a
Last election 6 seats, 3.9% New party 4 seats, 1.5%
Seats before 6 1 1
Seats won 5 1 1
Seat change Decrease 1 Steady 0 Steady 0
Popular vote 57,420 41,614 8,421
Percentage 2.6% 1.9% 0.4%
Swing Decrease 1.3% New party Decrease 1.1%
File:2020 Irish general election - Results.svg
Results of the election by constituency.
Taoiseach before election

Leo Varadkar
Fine Gael

Elected Taoiseach

TBD

The 2020 Irish general election took place on Saturday, 8 February 2020. This was the first election since 1918 to be held on a weekend instead of a weekday. The election was called following the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil by the President, at the request of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on 14 January 2020. 159 of 160 Dáil Éireann seats were contested, with the outgoing Ceann Comhairle being re-elected automatically.

The election resulted in a hung parliament, with the three largest parties splitting the vote nearly evenly. Fianna Fáil secured the most seats, with 38, one more than the 37 of the second party Sinn Féin, which itself had the most first preference votes of any party. Fine Gael, the party of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar finished third in both number of seats (35) and first preference votes.

Background

Since the 2016 Irish general election, Fine Gael led a minority government with the support of Independent TDs, including the Independent Alliance. It relied on a confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáil.

On 3 December 2019, a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy proposed by Catherine Murphy for the Social Democrats was defeated, with 53 votes in favour to 56 votes against and 35 registered abstentions.[1] On 9 January 2020, Independent TD Michael Collins called for a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health Simon Harris.[2] On 14 January, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar sought a dissolution of the Dáil which was granted by the president, with the 33rd Dáil to convene on 20 February at 12 noon.[3][4] The election was set for 8 February, which would be the first time a general election would be held on a Saturday.[5][6]

Electoral system

Dáil constituencies used in the 2020 election.

159 of the 160 members of Dáil Éireann were elected by single transferable vote (STV) from 39 constituencies, each returning between three and five TDs (Dáil deputies). Voters complete a paper ballot, numbering candidates 1, 2, 3, etc. for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. preference. Ballots are sent to the constituency count centre after polls close and are counted the following morning over several rounds. In STV, each ballot is initially credited to its first-preference candidate but may be transferred on later counts to the next available preference where the first preference candidate is elected or eliminated.[7]

Constituency boundary changes

A Constituency Commission, convened in July 2016 under the provisions of the Electoral Act 1997 with Judge Robert Haughton as chair, made recommendations on changes to constituency boundaries after publication of initial population data from the 2016 census.[8][9] The Commission had some discretion but was constitutionally bound to allow no more than a ratio of 30,000 people per elected member, and was required by law to recommend constituencies of three, four or five seats, and to avoid – as far as was practicable – breaching county boundaries. The Commission report, released on 27 June 2017, recommended an increase in the number of TDs from 158 to 160 elected in 39 constituencies.[10][11] These changes were implemented by the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017.[12][13] The election of the 33rd Dáil is therefore being held using the new boundaries, for 160 seats.

As the outgoing Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl did not announce his retirement, he was automatically returned, and the remaining 159 of the 160 seats were up for election.[14]

Retiring incumbents

The following members of the 32nd Dáil did not seek re-election.

Constituency Departing TD[b] Party First elected Date confirmed
Cavan–Monaghan Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin style="background-color: Template:Sinn Féin/meta/color" | Sinn Féin 1997 7 March 2018[15]
Clare Michael Harty style="background-color: Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | Independent 2016 13 January 2020[16]
Cork North-Central Jonathan O'Brien style="background-color: Template:Sinn Féin/meta/color" | Sinn Féin 2011 6 January 2020[17]
Cork South-West Jim Daly style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" | Fine Gael 2011 20 September 2019[18]
Dublin Bay North Tommy Broughan style="background-color: Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | Independent 1992 22 January 2020[19]
Dublin Bay North Finian McGrath style="background-color: Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | Independent 2002 14 January 2020[20]
Dublin Central Maureen O'Sullivan style="background-color: Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | Independent 2009 16 January 2020[21]
Dublin Fingal Brendan Ryan style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (Ireland)/meta/color" | Labour Party 2011 8 January 2020[22]
Dún Laoghaire Maria Bailey style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" | Fine Gael 2016 22 January 2020[23]
Dún Laoghaire Seán Barrett style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" | Fine Gael 1981 6 December 2019[24]
Kerry Martin Ferris style="background-color: Template:Sinn Féin/meta/color" | Sinn Féin 2002 18 November 2017[25]
Limerick City Michael Noonan style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" | Fine Gael 1981 18 May 2017[26]
Longford–Westmeath Willie Penrose style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (Ireland)/meta/color" | Labour Party 1992 5 July 2018[27]
Louth Gerry Adams style="background-color: Template:Sinn Féin/meta/color" | Sinn Féin 2011 18 November 2017[28]
Mayo Enda Kenny style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" | Fine Gael 1975 5 November 2017[29]
Sligo–Leitrim Tony McLoughlin style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" | Fine Gael 2011 28 June 2018[30]
Waterford John Deasy style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" | Fine Gael 2002 28 November 2017[31]
Waterford John Halligan style="background-color: Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | Independent 2011 15 January 2020[32]

Campaign

The campaign officially began after the dissolution of Dáil Éireann on 14 January 2020 and lasted until polling day on 8 February 2020, just over a week after the United Kingdom (which includes Northern Ireland) withdrew from the European Union, thus also making it the first major election to be held within the EU since the UK's withdrawal. The election took place on a Saturday for the first time since the 1918 election.[33] Leo Varadkar said that the change of day was to prevent school closures (many schools in Ireland are used as polling stations) and to make it easy for third-level students and those working away from home to vote.[34]

Nomination of candidates closed on Wednesday, 22 January. A record number of women were nominated, with 162 of the 531 candidates.[35] This was the first Irish general election in which there was a female candidate running in every constituency. If a party does not have a minimum of 30% male and 30% female candidates, it forfeits half of their state funding. At close of nominations, Fine Gael had 30.5% female candidates, Fianna Fáil had 31%, Labour had 32%, Sinn Féin had 33%, People Before Profit had 38%, the Green Party had 41%, and the Social Democrats had 57%, all passing the quota.[36]

Parties contesting a general election for the first time included Aontú, Irish Freedom Party, National Party and RISE (as part of S–PBP).

Voter registration via the Supplementary Register of Voters closed on 23 January, with very high registration taking place on the last day – Dublin City Council, for example, reporting 3,500 registrations on the final day allowed, and a total of 14,000 additional registrations, reported to be twice the normal amount for a general election.[37]

On 3 February 2020, following the sudden death of independent candidate Marese Skehan, the election in Tipperary was postponed by the returning officer, with nominations to be re-opened.[38][39][40] However, on 5 February the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government issued a Special Difficulty Order allowing the election to proceed on the same date as other constituencies. This was in consideration of the constitutional requirement that elections take place within 30 days of the dissolution of the Dáil.[41][42][43]

Party manifestos and slogans

Party/group Manifesto (external link) Other slogan(s) Refs
style="background:Template:Fine Gael/meta/color;"| Fine Gael A future to look forward to "Building a Republic of Opportunity, Taking Ireland Forward Together." [44][45]
style="background:Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color;" | Fianna Fáil An Ireland for all / Éire do chách [44][45]
style="background:Template:Sinn Féin/meta/color;" | Sinn Féin Giving workers and families a break "Standing up for Irish unity" [44]
style="background:Template:Labour Party (Ireland)/meta/color;" | Labour Party Building an equal society [44]
rowspan="3" style="background:Template:Solidarity–People Before Profit/meta/color;" | S–PBP[c] style="background:Template:People Before Profit/meta/color" | People Before Profit[c] Planet Before Profit "Socialism for the 21st century" [46]
style="background:Template:Solidarity (Ireland)/meta/color" | Solidarity[c] "Real change, not spare change" [47]
style="background:Template:RISE (Ireland)/meta/color" | RISE[c] [48]
style="background:Template:Social Democrats (Ireland)/meta/color;" | Social Democrats Hope for better. Vote for better. "Invest in better" [44]
style="background:Template:Green Party (Ireland)/meta/color;"| Green Party Want Green? Vote Green! "The future belongs to all of us" [44][49]
style="background:Template:Aontú/meta/color;"| Aontú The political system is broken. Let's fix it. "Think outside the political cartel" [50]

Television debates

2020 Irish general election debates
Date Broadcaster Moderator(s) Participants —   Name  Participant    N  Party not invited/did not participate  Notes
FG FF SF Lab S–PBP GP SD Aon
style="background:Template:Fine Gael/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Sinn Féin/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Labour Party (Ireland)/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Solidarity-People Before Profit/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Green Party (Ireland)/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Social Democrats (Ireland)/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Aontú/meta/color;"|
22 Jan Virgin One Pat Kenny Varadkar Martin N N N N N N [51]
27 Jan RTÉ One Claire Byrne Varadkar Martin McDonald Howlin Boyd Barrett Ryan Shortall N [52]
30 Jan Virgin One Ivan Yates
Matt Cooper 		Varadkar Martin McDonald Howlin Barry Ryan Murphy N [53]
4 Feb RTÉ One David McCullagh
Miriam O'Callaghan 		Varadkar Martin McDonald N N N N N
6 Feb RTÉ One David McCullagh
Miriam O'Callaghan 		N N N Howlin Coppinger Ryan Shortall Tóibín
6 Feb Virgin Media Ivan Yates
Matt Cooper 		Coveney Calleary Doherty N N N N N Debate among Deputy Leaders
6 Feb TG4 Páidí Ó Lionáird Kyne Calleary Ó Laoghaire N Ó Ceannabháin Garvey Ó Tuathail Mhic Gib Debate in Irish

The first leaders' debate took place on Virgin Media One on 22 January, but was restricted to Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin.[54]

A leaders' debate featuring seven party leaders/representatives took place on RTÉ One on Monday 27 January, from NUI Galway.[55][56]

On 27 January, RTÉ published an article explaining its rationale as to whom it invited to appear in televised leadership debates.[57] Aontú announced that it would seek a High Court injunction in order to prevent the broadcast of the leaders' debate scheduled for the same day but later in the day they announced that they would not proceed with the action.[58]

A further RTÉ debate was scheduled for 4 February, again on RTÉ One, and featuring only Varadkar and Martin. Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn Féin, had objected to her exclusion, and Sinn Féin threatened legal action if it was excluded from this debate.[59] On 3 February, RTÉ announced that it had invited McDonald to participate in the final debate, in part due to Sinn Féin's standing in recent opinion polls, and Sinn Féin confirmed that it would accept the invitation.[60][61]

A final debate took place on 6 February on RTÉ One between the minor party leaders.

Opinion polls

Main article: Opinion polling for the 2020 Irish general election

Opinion polls on voting intentions were conducted regularly. Polls were published on an approximately monthly basis by The Sunday Business POst (who use the Red C polling company) and The Sunday Times (who used the Behaviour and Attitudes polling company in all of their polls since 2016 up until their final poll prior to the election, when they used Panelbase).

Less frequent polls were published by The Irish Times, Sunday Independent, Irish Mail on Sunday, RTÉ News, and others.

The chart below depicts the results of opinion polls since the previous general election.

Results

See also: Members of the 33rd Dáil
Map showing the party winning the most first preference votes in each constituency.

Polls opened at 07:00 UTC and closed at 22:00 UTC. Counting of the votes commenced at 09:00 UTC on 9 February and concluded at 23:59 UTC on 10 February, with Cavan-Monaghan being the final constituency to report.[62][63]

The results of the election showed a close contest between three parties, with Fianna Fáil securing 38 seats in the Dáil Éireann, which includes one seat held by the Ceann Comhairle, whose seat is secured and is not contested. Second place in terms of seats was Sinn Féin which secured 37 seats, a gain of fifteen over the previous election. Fine Gael, the party of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, lost twelve seats to drop to third place. Among the smaller parties, the Green Party showed the largest gains, increasing from three to nine seats. In terms of popular vote, despite their close second place finish in terms of parliamentary seats, Sinn Féin received the most first preference votes nationwide, though no single party secured more than 25% of the first preference votes, nor more than 25% of the seats.

Party Fianna Fáil Sinn Féin Fine Gael Green Labour Social Democrats Solidarity–PBP Aontú I4C
style="background:Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Sinn Féin/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Fine Gael/meta/color;" | style="background:Template:Green Party (Ireland)/meta/color;" | style="background:Template:Labour Party (Ireland)/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Social Democrats (Ireland)/meta/color;" | style="background:Template:Solidarity–People Before Profit/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Aontú/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Independents 4 Change/meta/color;"|
Leader Micheál Martin Mary Lou McDonald Leo Varadkar Eamon Ryan Brendan Howlin Catherine Murphy
Róisín Shortall 		Collective leadership Peadar Tóibín None
Votes, 1st pref. 22.2%
484,320 		24.5%
535,595 		20.9%
455,584 		7.1%
155,700 		4.4%
95,588 		2.9%
63,404 		2.6%
57,420 		1.9%
41,614 		0.4%
8,421
Seats 38[a] (23.7%) 37 (23.1%) 35 (21.8%) 12 (7.5%) 6 (3.7%) 6 (3.7%) 5 (3.1%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%)

First preference vote share of different parties in the election.

  Sinn Féin (24.5%)
  Fianna Fáil (22.2%)
  Fine Gael (20.9%)
  Green Party (7.1%)
  Labour Party (4.4%)
  Social Democrats (2.9%)
  Solidarity–PBP (2.6%)
  Aontú (1.9%)
  Inds. 4 Change (0.4%)
  Other (13.1%)
style="width: 2px; background-color: #326760;" data-sort-value="Sinn Féin" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #6699FF;" data-sort-value="Fine Gael" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #22AC6F;" data-sort-value="Green Party (Ireland)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #CC0000;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (Ireland)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #752F8B;" data-sort-value="Social Democrats (Ireland)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #8E2420;" data-sort-value="Solidarity–People Before Profit" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #44532A;" data-sort-value="Aontú" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFC0CB;" data-sort-value="Independents 4 Change" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #006633;" data-sort-value="Irish Freedom Party" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFA500;" data-sort-value="Renua" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #264A3C;" data-sort-value="National Party (Ireland, 2016)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #23588C;" data-sort-value="Irish Democratic Party" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #F8F9FA;" data-sort-value="Workers' Party of Ireland" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0066ff;" data-sort-value="United People" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #F8F9FA;" data-sort-value="Independent politicians in Ireland" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #000000;" data-sort-value="Ceann Comhairle" |
33rd Irish general election – 8 February 2020[64][65][66]
Party Leader First Preference Votes Seats
Votes % FPv Swing (pp) Cand.
[67] 		2016 Out. Elected
2020 		Change
Sinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald 535,595 24.5 Increase10.7 42 23 22
37 / 160 (23%)
 Increase14
Fianna Fáil Micheál Martin 484,320 22.2 Decrease2.2 84 44 45
37 / 160 (23%)
 Decrease7
Fine Gael Leo Varadkar 455,584 20.9 Decrease4.7 82 49 47
35 / 160 (22%)
 Decrease14
Green Eamon Ryan 155,700 7.1 Increase4.4 39 2 3
12 / 160 (8%)
 Increase10
Labour Brendan Howlin 95,588 4.4 Decrease2.2 31 7 7
6 / 160 (4%)
 Decrease1
Social Democrats Catherine Murphy
Róisín Shortall 		63,404 2.9 Decrease0.1 20 3 2
6 / 160 (4%)
 Increase3
Solidarity–PBP[c] Collective leadership 57,420 2.6 Decrease1.3 36 6 6
5 / 160 (3%)
 Decrease1
Aontú Peadar Tóibín 41,614 1.9 Increase1.9[d] 26 New 1
1 / 160 (0.6%)
 Increase1
Inds. 4 Change None 8,421 0.4 Decrease1.1 4 4 1
1 / 160 (0.6%)
 Decrease3
Irish Freedom Hermann Kelly 5,495 0.3 Increase0.3[d] 11 New 0
0 / 160 (0%)
 -
Renua Vacant 5,473 0.3 Decrease1.9 11 0 0
0 / 160 (0%)
 -
National Party Justin Barrett 4,773 0.2 Increase0.2[d] 10 New 0
0 / 160 (0%)
 -
Irish Democratic Ken Smollen 2,611 0.1 Increase0.1 1 0 0
0 / 160 (0%)
 -
Workers' Party of Ireland Michael Donnelly 1,195 0.1 Decrease0.1 4 0 0
0 / 160 (0%)
 -
United People Jeff Rudd 43 0.0 Increase0.0[d] 1 New 0
0 / 160 (0%)
 -
Independent politicians in Ireland — 266,529 12.2 Decrease3.7[e] 125 19[e] 22[e]
19 / 160 (12%)
 Steady0
Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl N/A N/A N/A 1 1 1
1 / 160 (0.6%)
 0
Spoilt votes — — — — — — —
Total 2,183,765 100% — 552[67] 158 157[b] 160 Increase2
Registered voters/Turnout 62.9% — — — — — —


Voting summary

First preference vote
Sinn Féin
 
 24.53%
Fianna Fáil
 
 22.18%
Fine Gael
 
 20.86%
Green
 
 7.13%
Labour
 
 4.38%
Social Democrats
 
 2.90%
Solidarity–People Before Profit
 
 2.63%
Aontú
 
 1.91%
Independents 4 Change
 
 0.39%
Others
 
 0.90%
Independent
 
 12.21%

Seats summary

Dáil seats
Sinn Féin
 
 23.13%
Fianna Fáil
 
 23.13%
Fine Gael
 
 21.88%
Green
 
 7.50%
Labour
 
 3.75%
Social Democrats
 
 3.75%
Solidarity–People Before Profit
 
 3.13%
Aontú
 
 0.63%
Independents 4 Change
 
 0.63%
Ceann Comhairle
 
 0.63%
Independent
 
 11.88%

TDs who lost their seats

Party Seats lost Name Constituency Other offices held Year elected
rowspan="16" style="background-color: Template:Fianna Fáil/meta/color" | Fianna Fáil
16
 Bobby Aylward Carlow–Kilkenny 2007[f]
John Brassil Kerry 2016
Declan Breathnach Louth 2016
Malcolm Byrne Wexford 2019
Pat Casey Wicklow 2016
Shane Cassells Meath West 2016
Lisa Chambers Mayo 2016
John Curran Dublin Mid-West 2002[g]
Timmy Dooley Clare 2007
Pat "the Cope" Gallagher Donegal 2016[h]
Eugene Murphy Roscommon–Galway 2016
Margaret Murphy O'Mahony Cork South-West 2016
Kevin O'Keeffe Cork East 2016
Fiona O'Loughlin Kildare South 2016
Frank O'Rourke Kildare North 2016
Eamon Scanlon Sligo–Leitrim 2007[i]
rowspan="12" style="background-color: Template:Fine Gael/meta/color" | Fine Gael
12
 Pat Breen Clare Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection 2002
Catherine Byrne Dublin South-Central Minister of State for Health Promotion 2007
Marcella Corcoran Kennedy Laois–Offaly 2011
Michael W. D'Arcy Wexford Minister of State at the Department of Finance 2007[j]
Pat Deering Carlow–Kilkenny 2011
Regina Doherty Meath East Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection 2011
Andrew Doyle Wicklow Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture 2007
Seán Kyne Galway West Government Chief Whip 2011
Mary Mitchell O'Connor Dún Laoghaire Minister of State for Higher Education 2011
Tom Neville Limerick County 2016
Kate O'Connell Dublin Bay South 2016
Noel Rock Dublin North-West 2016
rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (Ireland)/meta/color" | Labour
2
 Joan Burton Dublin West 1992[k]
Jan O'Sullivan Limerick City 1998
rowspan="1" style="background-color: Template:Solidarity–People Before Profit/meta/color" | Solidarity–PBP
1
 Ruth Coppinger Dublin West 2014
rowspan="4" style="background-color: Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | Independent politicians in Ireland
4
 Séamus Healy Tipperary 2000[l]
Shane Ross Dublin Rathdown Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport 2011
Kevin "Boxer" Moran Longford–Westmeath Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief 2016
Katherine Zappone Dublin South-West Minister for Children and Youth Affairs 2016
Total 35 — — — —

Government formation

As there are 160 members of Dáil Éireann (including the Ceann Comhairle who casts a vote only in the case of a tie), 80 TDs are needed to form a governing coalition. A smaller group could form a minority government if they can negotiate a confidence and supply agreement with another party.

During the campaign, the leaders of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil ruled out forming a coalition government with Sinn Féin.[68]

As results were still coming in, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton of Fine Gael said the results left open the possibility of another Fine Gael government. Some in Fianna Fáil were reported to favour going into coalition with Sinn Féin over renewing an arrangement with Fine Gael. Sinn Féin leader McDonald announced her intention to try to form a coalition government without either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil. However, she did not rule out a coalition with either party.[68]

Sinn Féin have also stated an intention to form a broad left coalition; combined, the parties of the left have 68 seats (37 Sinn Féin, 12 Green, 6 Labour, 6 Social Democrats, 5 Solidarity-PBP, 1 Aontú, 1 Independents 4 Change), so the support of at least twelve Independents (out of 20 total) would be needed to form a government.[69][70]

A Fianna Fáil–Fine Gael coalition would have 72 seats and so would need support from smaller parties or Independents to form a government.[71]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c Includes the Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl, elected to Dáil Éireann in 2002 for Fianna Fáil, who is returned automatically.
  2. ^ a b On 19 May 2018, Dara Murphy of Cork North-Central announced his intention to retire at the next general election. However, he subsequently resigned from Dáil Éireann on 3 December 2019, leaving his seat vacant at dissolution.
  3. ^ a b c d e People Before Profit, Solidarity and RISE contested this election as Solidarity–People Before Profit. People Before Profit has 27 candidates, Solidarity has 9 candidates, and RISE has 1 candidate. They issued separate manifestos.
  4. ^ a b c d This party was created after the 2016 general election, so all its votes are counted as gains.
  5. ^ a b c The 2016 figures include 4.2% first preference votes and six TDs from the Independent Alliance, which is not a political party.
  6. ^ Aylward lost his seat in 2011 but regained it in 2015.
  7. ^ Curran lost his seat in 2011 but regained it in 2016.
  8. ^ Gallagher was previously a TD from 1981 to 1997, and from 2002 to 2009.
  9. ^ Scanlon lost his seat in 2011 but regained it in 2016.
  10. ^ D'Arcy lost his seat in 2011 but regained it in 2016.
  11. ^ Burton lost her seat in 1997 but regained it in 2002.
  12. ^ Healy lost his seat in 2007 but regained it in 2011.

References

  1. ^ "Confidence in the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] – Votes – Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil) – 3 December 2019". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  2. ^ "TD calling for no-confidence vote in Simon Harris". RTÉ News. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  3. ^ "President signs warrant for the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil". President of Ireland. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Forógra (Proclamation)" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil (5): 90. 17 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Minister Murphy makes an order appointing Saturday 8 February as the General election polling day". Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Irish election: first-ever Saturday general election vote". BBC News. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives)". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 24 March 2019.; "Electoral Act 1992 [Part XIX]". Irish Statute Book. 5 November 1992. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Commission established to review Dáil and European Constituencies". 14 July 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Constituency Commission". www.constituency-commission.ie.
  10. ^ "Introduction and summary of recommendations" (PDF). Constituency Commission 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Dáil constituencies where no change is recommended" (PDF). Constituency Commission 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  12. ^ "Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017". Irish Statute Book. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  13. ^ "The January polls and the Impact of the Constituency Commission 2017 report changes: Constituency-level analysis of the Irish Times-Ipsos MRBI (24th January 2018) and Sunday Times- Behaviour & Attitudes (21st January 2018) opinion polls". Irish Elections: Geography, Facts and Analyses. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  14. ^ Kelly, Olivia (10 February 2020). "Election 2020: Sean Ó Fearghaíl (Fianna Fáil)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  15. ^ McMorrow, Conor (7 March 2018). "Sinn Féin's Ó Caoláin will not contest next election". RTÉ News. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  16. ^ O'Regan, Eilish (13 January 2020). "Dr Michael Harty will not seek re-election as TD". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Sinn Féin's O'Brien will not contest next general election". RTÉ News. 6 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Fine Gael's Jim Daly will not contest next general election". RTÉ News. 20 September 2019.
  19. ^ "Independent TD Tommy Broughan announces retirement from Dáil". The Irish Times. 22 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Finian McGrath confirms he won't stand in February election". Irish Examiner. 14 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Maureen O'Sullivan announces she will not run for re-election in Dublin Central". The Irish Times. 16 January 2020.
  22. ^ "Labour TD Brendan Ryan will not contest general election". RTÉ News. 8 January 2020.
  23. ^ "Maria Bailey is not seeking re-election to the Dáil". RTÉ News. 22 January 2020.
  24. ^ "Leo Varadkar's tenure as Taoiseach may soon be over". Irish Examiner. 6 December 2019.
  25. ^ "Martin Ferris says he will stand down as TD". The Irish Times. Retrieved 19 November 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |ldate= (help)
  26. ^ "Michael Noonan to step down as Finance Minister - and won't run again for Dáil". Irish Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  27. ^ Mullooly, Ciaran (5 July 2018). "Penrose says he will not contest next general election". RTÉ News. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  28. ^ "Adams says he will step down as Sinn Féin President". RTÉ News. 18 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  29. ^ "Fine Gael in Castlebar begin search for new candidate after Enda Kenny announcement". The Connacht Telegraph. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  30. ^ "Sligo Leitrim Fine Gael TD wont contest next general election". Shannon Side. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  31. ^ "FG's John Deasy will not seek re-election due to health concerns". The Irish Times. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  32. ^ "John Halligan retires after 30 years in politics". The Irish Times. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  33. ^ "Election 2020: Saturday voting not a solution for low voter turnout". The Irish Times. 20 January 2020. The cases of Ireland's very limited experience with Saturday voting to date, which includes the second Nice Referendum in 2002, the Children's Referendum in 2012 and a Tipperary South by-election in 2001, did not enhance voter turnout.
  34. ^ "Taoiseach explains thinking behind Saturday election". BreakingNews.ie. 14 January 2020.
  35. ^ McConnell, Daniel (23 January 2020). "Record number of women for 2020 election". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  36. ^ McAllister, Edel (23 January 2020). "Slight increase in women candidates for General Election". RTÉ. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  37. ^ Kilraine, John (23 January 2020). "'Very high' last minute voter registration in Dublin city". RTÉ. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  38. ^ "NOTICE OF COUNTERMAND". Tipperary Returning Officer.
  39. ^ Murphy, David (3 February 2020). "Tipperary vote postponed after death of candidate". Retrieved 4 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  40. ^ Burne, Louise (4 February 2020). "Voting in Tipperary to be held February 28 or 29 'at the earliest' following candidate's death". Extra.ie. Retrieved 4 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  41. ^ "Electoral staff told Tipperary vote will go ahead on Saturday". RTÉ News. 5 February 2020.
  42. ^ "Special Difficulty Order — Dáil Election in the Tipperary Constituency to be held on 8 February 2020". Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  43. ^ "Electoral Act 1992 (Special Difficulty) Order 2020". Irish Statute Book. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  44. ^ a b c d e f "Ireland's General Election 2020: who would you vote for?". Irish Central. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  45. ^ a b "It's game on as campaigning begins in Election 2020". RTÉ News. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  46. ^ "Planet Before Profit" (PDF). pbp.ie. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  47. ^ "What we stand for". www.solidarity.ie. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  48. ^ "What we stand for". www.letusrise.ie. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  49. ^ @greenparty_ie (25 January 2020). "#WantGreenVoteGreen" (Tweet) – via Twitter. {{Cite tweet}}: |date= / |number= mismatch (help)
  50. ^ "Aontú's mantra is change but their policies seem like more of the same". independent.ie. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  51. ^ "Varadkar Opens Door To Grand Coalition". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  52. ^ "McDonald to face-off with Varadkar and Martin in RTE leaders' debate next Monday". Extra.ie. 22 January 2020.
  53. ^ "Cork TD to take part in TV party leaders debate". eveningecho.ie. 28 January 2020.
  54. ^ "Personal drug use and a potential grand coalition: The key moments from the first head-to-head TV debate". The Journal. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  55. ^ "'There's a fair few nutters in every party': The key moments from the RTÉ leaders' TV debate". The Journal. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  56. ^ "As it happened: Claire Byrne Live leaders' debate". RTE.ie. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  57. ^ "RTÉ and party leaders' debates explained". RTÉ. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  58. ^ "Aontú will not seek injunction over RTÉ debate". RTÉ. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  59. ^ O'Connell, Hugh (22 January 2020). "Sinn Féin issues legal letter to RTÉ over debate exclusion". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  60. ^ "Mary Lou McDonald to take part in leaders' debate". RTÉ. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  61. ^ "'It'd be like asking John Delaney to take over the FAI again': The key points from tonight's RTÉ debate". The Journal. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  62. ^ "Voters go to the polls after parties hear demand for change from electorate". The Irish Times. February 2020.
  63. ^ "Full house: Here are your 160 TDs elected in the 2020 general election". The Journal. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  64. ^ "Election 2020 National Summary". Irish Times. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  65. ^ "General Election 2020 Results". RTE News. 9 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  66. ^ "2020 General Election". Irish Elections. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  67. ^ a b Kavanagh, Adrian Kavanagh. "Candidates for the 2020 General Election by Dáil constituency". Irish Elections: Geography, Facts and Analyses. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  68. ^ a b Carroll, Rory (9 February 2020). "Sinn Féin to try to form ruling coalition after Irish election success". The Guardian.
  69. ^ Hutton, Brian; Bray, Jennifer; Carswell, Simon. "Smaller parties raise doubts over prospect of a Sinn Féin-led leftist coalition". The Irish Times.
  70. ^ correspondent, Rory Carroll Ireland (11 February 2020). "Sinn Féin begins efforts to form leftwing coalition in Ireland" – via www.theguardian.com.
  71. ^ "What are the possible coalition options for the next government?". The Journal. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2020_Irish_general_election&oldid=940453963"