Leftwing independent Connolly wins Irish presidential election by landslide

The leftwing independent candidate Catherine Connolly has won a landslide election victory and been declared Ireland's next president.

- Rory Carroll

She pledged to be a “president for all” after securing 63% of the first preference votes, a stunning result that shook the political establishment and will make her the republic’s 10th head of state.

“I will be a voice for peace, a voice that builds on our policy of neutrality, a voice that articulates the existential threat posed by climate change,” she said at Dublin Castle on Saturday night after being declared the victor of Friday’s election.

The former barrister, 68, vowed to advocate for the voiceless. “Our public and democracy needs constructive questioning,” she said, speaking in Irish and English. “Together, we can shape a new republic that values everybody, that values and champions diversity and that takes confidence in our own identity.”

Connolly, an independent member of parliament from Galway, captured the imagination of many younger people and was backed by an alliance of leftwing opposition parties.

Of 1,442,698 valid votes cast, she won 914,143. Heather Humphreys, a former cabinet minister who ran for the ruling Fine Gael party, won 424,987 votes, or 29%, in a two-horse race. Fianna Fáil's candidate, Jim Gavin, had dropped out of the campaign but his name remained on the ballot and he won 103,568, or 7%.

Connolly's triumph was marred by a turnout of 46% - low by Irish standards - and 213,738 spoiled or invalid votes, an unprecedented number that reflected frustration over the lack of choice.