Ireland - November 2024
Centre-right Fianna Fáil wins early general elections
Ireland held early general elections on 29 November, after Prime Minister Simon Harris announced a snap election in a bid to secure another term for his Fine Gael party, which has been in office since 2011, and in a three-party coalition in the last mandate. Out of the 174 seats of the Dáil Éireann (Assembly), Fianna Fáil won 48 seats with a vote share of 21.9 per cent. The Sinn Féin party secured 39 seats, with a vote share of 19 per cent, and the Fine Gael secured 38 seats, with a vote share of 20.8 per cent. Voter turnout declined from 62.7 per cent in 2020 to 59.7 per cent in 2024. Despite the highest number of female candidates (246 out of 686) registered in Irish general elections, only 44 were elected. Women will make up just over 25 per cent of the new legislature—a modest increase from 23 per cent in the previous legislature, but still one of the lowest proportions of female MPs in Western Europe.
Sources: Raidió Teilifís Éireann, British Broadcasting Corporation (1), British Broadcasting Corporation (2), Financial Times, Politico, International IDEA, Inter-Parliamentary Union, The Guardian, The Times
