Leftist Independent lawmaker Catherine Connolly is projected to have secured a double-digit victory in Saturday’s Irish presidential election; however, a historic spoiled ballot campaign and low voter turnout demonstrate a growing disdain for the political establishment in Dublin.
Self-described socialist MP for Galway Catherine Connolly is projected to have won 64 per cent of the vote in Ireland on Saturday, besting liberal Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys at a projected 29 per cent, and former Irish Gaelic football manager and candidate for the centrist Fianna Fáil party before withdrawing from the race earlier this month, Jim Gavin, at 7 per cent, the Irish Times reports.
Yet despite definitively defeating her challengers, the victory may prove hollow for the 68-year-old Connolly, with turnout being low — expected to be under 50 per cent — and the number of ballots intentionally spoiled by voters projected to have reached a record-breaking 13 per cent.
Businessman Declan Ganley and others launched a grassroots campaign to spoil ballots amid accusations that the political establishment had closed ranks to prevent conservative campaigner Maria Steen of the Catholic Iona Institute from entering the race.
Under Ireland’s establishment-controlled system, prospective presidential candidates must either secure the nomination of a former or retiring president, the backing of at least four county or city councils, or support from at least 20 members of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament). The socially conservative Steen fell short of the signatures required from Oireachtas members to qualify. The same restrictive measures also prevented UFC legend Conor McGregor from entering the race.
In one example of a spoiled ballot highlighted in the press, a voter from the Dublin Bay South constituency wrote: “Protect national and individual sovereignty. Repeal Gender Recognition Act. No ‘Hate Laws’. No EU Migration Pact. No W.H.O Pandemic agreement. No Digital ID. No Digital Currency. No Open Borders. Repatriate Illegals. Reopen presidential nominations. Political parties have interfered in the democratic process… God save Ireland.”
Nevertheless, Connolly is set to hold the Irish presidency for at least the next seven years. While the position is largely ceremonial, she will be tasked with representing Ireland on the global stage.
Concerns have been raised that she may drive a wedge between Dublin and the Trump administration in the United States, given her far-left political stances.
Connolly, who was backed by leftist parties such as the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, the Greens, and, critically, the supposedly nationalist Sinn Féin party, has faced critiques for her anti-NATO positions, such as comparing Germany’s boost in defence spending to the militarisation of the country in the 1930s under Nazi rule.
She has also been heavily critical of Israel during its war in Gaza, and has even supported the Islamist Hamas terrorists responsible for the October 7th attacks remaining in power in a prospective Palestinian state.
Connolly is also likely to be out of step with large swaths of the country on issues like mass migration. In the wake of the alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl by an asylum-seeking hotel migrant on the skirts of Dublin, she doubled down on her open borders philosophy, claiming that Ireland “needs workers”.
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