Independent candidate Catherine Connolly will become the 10th President of Ireland after winning a record number of first-preference votes. The 914,143 of these ballots she received accounted for 63% of the total. The runner up Heather Humphreys received 424,987 votes, amounting to 29.5%. The final result was the following:
Connolly (Independent): 914,143 (63.4%)
Heather Humphreys (Fine Gael): 424,987 (29.5%)
Jim Gavin (Fianna Fáil): 103,568 (7.1%)
Turnout: 1,656,436 (46% of electorate)
Spoilt: 213,738 (12.9%)
Quota: 721,350
Jim Gavin remained on the ballot due to a late withdrawal. He had dropped out of the race following the revelation that 16 years ago he pocketed €3,300 that a tenant had sent him by error, and never returned the money.
Catherine Connolly backs peace and a more diverse Ireland
In her victory speech, Connolly – who was backed by all major left-wing parties – said:
I will be a president who listens and who reflects and who speaks when it’s necessary. And a voice for peace. A voice that builds on our policy of neutrality. A voice that articulates the existential threat posed by climate change.
Connolly’s stances advocating for peace and neutrality were a feature of her campaign. She was strongly critical of so-called Israel’s genocide in Gaza along with the Irish government’s role in it. She has also backed the maintenance of Ireland’s triple-lock — which requires the UN Security Council, the Irish government and the Dáil Éireann (parliament’s lower house) to all back an international deployment of Irish troops greater than 12.
In a country with a growing threat from a far-right spewing anti-immigrant rhetoric, she went on to pledge support for a more diverse Ireland:
…together we can shape a new republic that values everybody. That values and champions diversity. And that takes confidence in our own identity, our Irish language, our English language, and the new people who have come to our country.
Humphreys was gracious in defeat, saying:
I want to wholeheartedly congratulate Catherine Connolly on her election as the 10th President of Ireland. Catherine will be a President for all of us, she will be my President and I want to wish her every success.
Praise for “authentic” figure in a “landslide victory for humanity“
Praise rolled in from allies too, with Paul Murphy, TD (member of the Irish parliament) for Dublin South-West complimenting her for being “authentic”, and having “a human side to her that people found immensely appealing.” He also asserted that the unity shown by the left during the Connolly campaign represented a key learning point and an opportunity to maintain momentum:
The big lesson is that if the left unites and seeks to mobilise people, it can win. The dynamic of unity can create confidence and enthuse others to get involved.
Praise came in from abroad too, with Jeremy Corbyn showing his approval of the former Galway TD:
Congratulations to Catherine Connolly, the next President of Ireland. Catherine will be a voice for peace, social justice and a united Ireland. This is a landslide victory for humanity and for hope!
Massive spoiled ballot count reveals spectre of far-right
However, any enthusiasm for the win ought to be tempered by a closer look at the stats. Connolly’s win came via just 28.8% of the electorate, in what was effectively a two horse race, with Gavin on the ballot in only a procedural sense. The figure of almost 13% spoiled votes shows an unprecedented level of hostility to what is being offered to voters, given the number for the previous election in 2018 was 1.2%. In three of five Dublin constituencies, spoiled votes outnumbered those received by Heather Humphreys.
An Coimisiún Toghcháin (the Irish electoral commission) responded by saying there is a need for:
…deeper and further reflection on the reasons for this.
They went on to say:
Our National Election and Democracy Study (NEDS) and Post Electoral Event Review (PEER) reports, which will be published in the coming months, should provide some insights which will make a contribution to the ongoing process of enhancing democracy and elections in this country.
Murphy blamed the phenomenon on reactionary campaigners, saying:
…the far right have their claws and influence in working-class communities.
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín also warned:
A whole section of Irish society do not feel that they have a voice within the system, do not feel that they have a horse in the race, and that’s dangerous.
Even Catherine Connolly’s critics are optimistic – but success only possible if the left remains united
Fintan O’Toole, who has levelled baseless criticism at Connolly during her campaign, expressed concern over a:
…very wide and disparate constituency of the disillusioned, the disgruntled and the disengaged.
However, he also praised Catherine Connolly, and offered hope for her presidency, given the impressive result of her insurgent campaign. He expressed hope she might:
…speak for the established State, represent a radical opposition to it and give hope to those who are increasingly disenchanted with Irish democracy.
He continued:
That’s a tough task. But so was getting to the point where she has a chance to make good on her promise. She has defied scepticism and made the improbable seem inevitable. If she can repeat that feat in office, she will do much to shore up a democracy endangered by complacency.
Murphy too was optimistic, saying:
…experience of canvassing more hard-pressed working class areas proves that this is not a lost battle, but one to be engaged with. Most of those considering spoiling their ballot were open to being convinced that the best protest was to defeat the political establishment.
The mistake would obviously be to put excessive hope for change in the occupant of a largely ceremonial role. Ireland has had two successive progressive presidents, and that hasn’t prevented the country reaching the current crisis point of an ascendant reactionary tendency. The potential lies in Murphy’s hope for a unified progressive movement, which might ultimately enable the election of a left-wing government.
Were it to then deal with the many drivers fuelling the far-right scourge — unaffordable housing, inadequate health care, the cost of living — Connolly’s triumph of uniting the typically more fractious wing of politics will have been a genuine watershed moment for those seeking a more humane nation.
Featured image via Houses of the Oireachtas from Ireland
This post was originally published on Canary.