Independent leftwing candidate Catherine Connolly wins Irish presidential elections

By&nbspEuronews&nbspwith&nbspAP

Published connected 26/10/2025 - 9:57 GMT+1 •Updated 9:58

Left-wing autarkic campaigner Catherine Connolly volition go the 10th president of Ireland aft winning elections by a landslide victory.

Official results showed beardown elector enactment for Connolly arsenic president, a mostly ceremonial relation successful Ireland. She won 63% of first-preference votes erstwhile spoiled votes were excluded, compared to 29% of her rival Heather Humphreys, of the centre-right enactment Fine Gael.

Connolly, 68, said Saturday evening astatine Dublin Castle that she would champion diverseness and beryllium a dependable for bid and 1 that “builds connected our argumentation of neutrality.”

“I would beryllium an inclusive president for each of you, and I respect it arsenic an implicit honour," she said.

Humphreys conceded she had mislaid earlier Saturday earlier ballot counting had finished.

Connolly, a erstwhile barrister who has served arsenic a lawmaker since 2016, has been outspoken successful criticizing Israel implicit the warfare successful Gaza. She has besides warned against the European Union's increasing “militarization" pursuing Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine.

Ireland has a contented of subject neutrality, but her critics person said she risks alienating the country's allies.

Connolly volition win Michael D. Higgins, who has been president since 2011, having served the maximum 2 seven-year terms. She volition beryllium Ireland’s 10th president and the 3rd pistillate to clasp the post.

The person has garnered the backing of a scope of left-leaning parties, including Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and the Social Democrats.

Prime Minister Micheál Martin connected Saturday congratulated Connolly connected her “very broad predetermination victory." He said helium was looking guardant to moving with the caller president arsenic “Ireland continues to play a important relation connected the planetary stage, and arsenic we look guardant to hosting the EU presidency successful the 2nd fractional of 2026."

Irish presidents correspond the state connected the satellite stage, big visiting heads of authorities and play an important law role, but they bash not person enforcement powers specified arsenic shaping laws oregon policies.

Nonetheless, parties connected the near celebrated the results arsenic a important displacement successful Irish politics.

“We person seen a existent appetite for the alteration that Catherine represents,” said Labour Party person Ivana Bacik. “We judge this truly does mean a caller benignant of authorities is possible, that we tin present recognize the ambition that I talked astir a twelvemonth ago: The existent imaginable of a center-left-led authorities aft the adjacent wide election.”

Connolly and Humphreys were the lone contenders aft Jim Gavin, the campaigner for Martin’s Fianna Fail party, discontinue the contention 3 weeks earlier the predetermination implicit a long-ago fiscal dispute.

Martin, who heads Ireland’s government, had personally backed Gavin arsenic a statesmanlike candidate. Though Gavin had stopped campaigning, his sanction remained connected the ballot insubstantial due to the fact that of his precocious withdrawal from the race. He won 7% of archetypal penchant votes.

Others — including instrumentalist Bob Geldof and the erstwhile mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor — had indicated they wished to tally for president but failed to person capable backing for a nomination.

The electoral committee said Saturday that determination was a “significantly higher than normal” fig of spoiled ballots, and that determination volition “clearly beryllium a request for deeper and further reflection” astir elector dissatisfaction.

Simon Harris, the lawman premier, said the spoiled ballots showed “the fig of radical successful Ireland present who are intelligibly feeling disaffected oregon disconnected with politics." He said officials volition beryllium looking astatine the anticipation of changing the threshold needed to unafraid a information successful aboriginal statesmanlike elections.

About 46% of the 3.6 cardinal eligible voters turned retired to vote. There were astir 214,000 invalid ballots nationwide, representing a tenfold summation connected the past statesmanlike predetermination successful 2018.