2016 Irish general election
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165 of 166 seats in Dáil Éireann 84 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||
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The next Irish general election must take place by 2016 at the latest. The election will be called following the dissolution of the 31st Dáil by the President, at the request of the Taoiseach. The electorate will elect the members of the 32nd Dáil who will assemble shortly afterwards to elect a Taoiseach following agreement on the Government of the 32nd Dáil.
Date
Section 7 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1927 requires that the Dáil be dissolved within five years after its first meeting following the previous election (9 March 2011).[1] Article 16.3.2 of the Constitution of Ireland requires that a general election for members of Dáil Éireann must must take place not later than thirty days after the dissolution. The next general election must, therefore, take place no later than 8 April 2016.[2]
The current statutory framework for the setting of a date for polling day in the general election is set out in the Electoral Act 1992 (as amended). Section 96 of the Electoral Act 1992 requires that the poll is held, not earlier than the seventeenth day or later than the twenty-fifth day, following the day on which the writs for the election are issued. The writs for the election are issued by the Clerk of the Dáil on the day the Dáil is dissolved.
Electoral system
Ireland uses proportional representation with a single transferable vote, also known as PR–STV.[3] The general election will take place in 43 parliamentary constituencies throughout the state for 165 of the 166 Dáil Éireann seats. The Ceann Comhairle is automatically re-elected.[4] Each multi-member constituency returns three, four or five Teachtaí Dála or Dáil deputies.[3]
Opinion polls
The current government (since 9 March 2011) consists of a Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition headed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, the United Left Alliance and independents form the opposition in the Dáil.
| Date | Source | Polling Agency | Fine Gael | Labour Party | Fianna Fáil | Sinn Féin | Ind./Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 June 2011 | Irish Independent[5] | Millward Brown Lansdowne | 42% | 19% | 16% | 11% | 13% |
| 29 May 2011 | The Sunday Business Post[6] | RED C | 41% | 19% | 16% | 11% | 13% |
| 10 April 2011 | The Sunday Business Post[7] | RED C | 39% | 18% | 16% | 11% | 16% |
| 25 February 2011 | General election | N/A | 36.1% | 19.4% | 17.4% | 9.9% | 17.2% |
References
- ^ "Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1927". Irish Statute Book database. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ Article 16.5 of the constitution states that the Dáil may sit for a period of up to seven years from its first meeting. It also allows a shorter period to be fixed by law, this is currently five years.
- ^ a b "Proportional Representation – Information". Irish Citizens Information Board. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
- ^ Article 16.6 of the constitution requires that "provision shall be made by law" such that the Ceann Comhairle "be deemed without any actual election to be elected a member of Dáil Éireann". The current law making such provision is the Electoral Act, 1992.
- ^ "Satisfaction with Enda Kenny increases". RTÉ News. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "Poll shows increase in support for Fine Gael". RTÉ News. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ "Poll shows increased support for Fine Gael". RTÉ News. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
