As the European Parliament elections in Ireland rolls into its fourth day of counting, concerns have been aired regarding the complex voting procedure. Two key issues have cropped up: the extensive length of the ballot papers used during the election, and the convoluted geographical layout of two of the three constituencies, Midlands North West and Ireland South.
The election of Ireland’s 14 MEPs, who will represent a population exceeding 5 million, underscores the enormity of these electoral battles, which is inescapable. While the impact of geographical factors is minimal in most EU countries where some form of party list system exists, in Ireland these factors hold significant sway. This week, for instance, both Fine Gael in Ireland South and Fianna Fáil in Midlands North West might cost themselves a second seat due to a poorly strategised geographical candidate selection.
If Ireland persists in its conventional practice of single transferable votes in multi-seat constituencies at the European level, then dealing with the vast size of these constituencies becomes inevitable. There could be consideration by the Electoral Commission to divide the two non-Dublin constituencies into three, however, it’s highly uncertain whether the resulting boundaries would any more logically aligned geographically. Also, the smaller a constituency is, the less it represents.
However, credible worries do exist. Despite the Electoral Commission conducting an election campaign beforehand, a total of 55,000 votes were rendered void in the European elections last Friday. While some of these spoiled votes were intentional, it’s reported that many were the result of voters making rudimentary mistakes like continuing their preferences from one lengthy ballot paper to another.
Did the elections have too many candidates? Striking the right balance here is crucial. The ballot’s accessibility is intrinsic to the democratic process. The current state funding system for entrenched parties already creates obstacles for new political entrants, therefore, any additional barriers need to be handled very carefully. There may, however, come a saturation point when the barriers are so minimal that they lead to unnecessary confusion for the voters.
A total of 73 candidates were vying for merely 14 seats in the recent election, an unusually high candidate-to-seat ratio for Ireland’s standards. Twenty-six of these candidates garnered below 1% of the votes, and 41 managed to secure less than 3%. Such a long list of relatively unknown candidates inevitably left several voters bemused at the polling station. In order to qualify as a candidate for the European Parliament in Ireland, one must meet one of three criteria: a nomination from a registered political party, a deposit of €1,800, or the endorsement of 60 signatories. Bearing in mind the seemingly low threshold, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that a reassessment may be necessary.