At Stake in this Election:  

• The Presidency of Ireland 

Government Structure: 

• Chief of State: President Michael D. HIGGINS (since 11 Nov 2011) 

• Head of Government: Taoiseach Micheál MARTIN (since 11 Feb 2025) 

• Assembly: bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) with 60-seat Senate (Seanad Éireann) and 174-seat House of Representatives (Dáil Éireann) 

Electoral System: 

• The President is elected through single transferable vote to a once renewable 7-year term.  

• The Taoiseach is nominated by the House of representatives and approved by the President. 

• 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. 

• All 60 members of the House of Representatives are directly elected through single transferable vote in multimember constituencies to a 5-year term. 

Last Election: 

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) 

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 24 Sept 2025 

• Voter registration deadline: 7 Oct 2025 

Main Candidates in this Election:  

• Catherine Martina Ann CONNOLLY 

• • Party: Coalition of People Before Profit-Solidarity, the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, the Green Party, and Sinn Féin. 

• Jim GAVIN 

• • Party: Fine Gael 

• Heather HUMPHREYS 

• • Party: Fianna Fáil 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 5,380,257 (2024 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 3,502,044 (2020) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 2,716,928 (2024 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Acceded 23 Dec 1985 

• 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.  

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• 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 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.949, Very High, Rank 11 (2023) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 14.3 (2023) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 Mar 2007, Ratified 20 Mar 2018 

• Projected population with a disability: 860,841 (2024 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• ElectionJudgments: Yes, 1 judgement