Independent candidate wins Irish presidential election
26 October 06:18
catherine Connolly, a 68-year-old independent candidate, won the Irish presidential election on Friday, October 24, following the processing of votes in all 43 constituencies of the country. Both of her rivals in the race for the post have already recognized her victory. Preliminary results have been published on the website of the presidential election, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
As of 19:23 Dublin time, Connolly, who holds left-wing views, has gained more than 63% of the vote (or more than 914 thousand). Her rivals, 64-year-old center-right candidate Heather Humphreys and 54-year-old former Dublin Gaelic football officer and coach Jim Gavin, have garnered almost 30% and just over 7% of the vote, respectively. The latter withdrew from the election three weeks before the vote, but his name remained on the ballot anyway.
“Catherine will be the president for all of us, she will be my president as well, so I really want to wish her all the best. I don’t regret anything,” the Irish TV channel RTE quoted Humphries as saying.
The Prime Minister of the country, Mihály Martin, has also congratulated Connolly, noting that after a “very convincing victory” she will “obviously become the next president.”
At the same time, the Associated Press notes that the position of president in Ireland is rather ceremonial. In addition, the election was held with a low turnout of 46.3%, and every eighth ballot was spoiled – almost 214 thousand out of 1.65 million were invalid.
What we know about Connolly
Katherine Connolly is a former psychologist and lawyer, and since 2016 she has been an independent member of the House of Representatives. She has repeatedly criticized Israel for the war in Gaza and opposed the European Union’s increase in arms spending amid the war in Ukraine. Connolly criticizes Russia’s war in Ukraine, but also condemns NATO for provoking the conflict, The Washington Times notes.
Before the election, the candidate was supported by a number of left-wing Irish parties, including the left-wing nationalist Sinn Fein, as well as the Labor and Social Democratic parties.
Connolly is expected to succeed Michael Higgins, who has held the post since 2011. She will become the tenth president of Ireland and the third woman to hold the office.
