As noted here a couple of weeks ago, it’s debateable whether Ireland complies with the requirement in EU law that MEPs are to be elected using a system of proportional representation (PR), be that a list system or PR-STV. At present 25 countries use some kind of list system, while Ireland and Malta employ PR-STV.…
By Michael Gallagher The plethora of candidates for the European Parliament elections due in Ireland on 7 June raises the question of whether the country is using the most appropriate method of electing its MEPs. With 23 candidates in Dublin and South, and 27 in Midlands–North-West, voters will be faced with a disconcertingly lengthy ballot…
By Michael Gallagher 1. Previous post didn’t contain a prediction, but did observe that there were many considerations that could lead electors to a No vote while the benefits of a Yes outcome were uncertain and contested. Margin of defeat for the two proposals has taken everyone by surprise. 2. Many of the Yes advocates…
By Michael Gallagher So, the nation is (far from) convulsed by the two referendums that will take place on Friday, the ‘family amendment’ and the ‘care amendment’. (Of course, these could be seen as merely the warm-up before the really big referendum of the year, the eagerly-awaited vote on the Unified Patent Court that’s due…
By Michael Gallagher Lots of well-informed fine-grained analysis around of the constituency review published earlier this week by the Electoral Commission (EC). On the bigger picture, 4 points. 1. EC had no option but to respect the legislation, but regrettable that that specifies that all constituencies must be in range of 3–5 seats. Academic consensus…
The headline stories from the results of last week’s Westminster election in Northern Ireland have been well aired. A setback for the DUP, treading water by SF, a revival by the SDLP and Alliance, the continued marginalisation of the UUP, and the near irrelevance of the other smaller parties. Closer inspection of the figures delivers…
Recent referendums in Ireland and the UK highlight stark differences regarding the place of the referendum as a political institution within the respective overall political systems, and also raise some questions about how a referendum outcome should be interpreted. The most obvious difference is the highly specified role of the referendum in the Irish political…
How many seats will Ireland have in the new European Parliament due to be elected in late May? If the UK has left the EU by then, Ireland will have 13 seats, but if not then only 11 will be elected with 2 others waiting on the subs’ bench until the first stage of the…
The long-anticipated referendum on repealing the 8th amendment, known by proponents and opponents alike at the time of its initial adoption as the ‘pro-life amendment’, has delivered a result widely and understandably described as ‘seismic’, ‘historic’ and ‘momentous’. In a high turnout (64%, second among standalone referendums only to the 1972 vote on EC entry…
By Michael Gallagher The expectation was that the same-sex marriage referendum would deliver a comfortable Yes and the vote on reducing the minimum age for the president an equally decisive No, and that’s just how it worked out. The latter achieved the distinction of delivering the lowest Yes vote (only 27 per cent) of any…
Irish Politics Forum 