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Ireland


DIASPORA GROUP CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CHANGE TO VOTING RIGHTS FOR IRISH EMIGRANTS


IRELAND, SLOVAKIA AND CYPRUS ARE THE ONLY EU COUNTRIES WHO ‘DEPRIVE THEIR
OVERSEAS CITIZENS OF THE VOTE’, SAYS CAMPAIGN GROUP VOTINGRIGHTS.IE

Expand


Campaign group votingrights.ie said 'the continued refusal to grant non-resident
citizens the right to vote is a sign of parochialism that further divides'.
Photograph: Julien Behal/PA Wire

Shauna Bowers
Sun Apr 30 2023 - 00:01

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Ireland’s electoral system is “the most restrictive in Europe”, and the current
regulations are “outdated”, a campaign group calling for the extension of voting
rights to Irish emigrants has said.

The group, called votingrights.ie, wrote a letter to Tánaiste Micheál Martin
last week, expressing their “disappointment” that a referendum granting citizens
living outside the State the right to vote in future presidential elections “has
been kicked to touch once again and is now scheduled for 2025″.

“This suggests the earliest these citizens will be able to vote for a president
is 2032. The Convention on the Constitution recommended voting rights for all
citizens living outside the state in 2013,” the letter said.

“A total of 19 years will have passed before these Irish citizens will be given
the opportunity to participate in a presidential election.”



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The campaign group, which was founded by former senator Billy Lawless, said of
the 14 European Union member states that hold direct presidential elections,
only “Ireland, Slovakia and Cyprus deprive their overseas citizens of the vote”.

“The Government currently maintains electoral regulations that are outdated and
restrictive to citizens living outside the State. Specifically, the regulations
that Irish citizens who do not intend to return home to Ireland within 18 months
are ineligible to vote are highly restrictive,” the letter said.



“Ireland’s electoral system is the most restrictive in Europe, denying emigrants
the vote in local, national or EU parliamentary elections, thus violating the
EU’s core principle of freedom of movement.”

The campaign group said it believes there should not be any time limits placed
on voters who are away from the country on voting day.

“This affects not only Irish citizens living abroad, but also their family
members who may be abroad for life events such as births, deaths and marriages,”
it added.

“The requirement that one must be on the island, and on the right side of the
Border, to vote is a form of geographical gerrymandering. The continued refusal
to grant non-resident citizens the right to vote is a sign of parochialism that
further divides. It is hard to promote a shared Ireland when your own citizens
aren’t allowed to vote for their own president.”

Votingrights.ie made a number of recommendations to the Tánaiste in the letter,
including expanding the use of absentee ballots that are currently available for
members of the Defence Forces and diplomats serving abroad.

“Ireland often describes itself as a small nation that punches above its weight.
Yet when it comes to voting rights for all citizens living in Northern Ireland
or abroad, the State does not even punch at all,” the letter said.



“Democracy is being challenged around the world, from the Ukraine to the United
States. Millions of people are struggling to have their voices heard. In this
situation we would hope that the Irish State would find a new sense of urgency
to advance a broad democratic reform agenda that would make Ireland a modern,
21st-century democracy.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs was contacted for comment.


SHAUNA BOWERS

Shauna Bowers is a reporter for The Irish Times


Department of Foreign AffairsStateEuropean UnionPresidential Election


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