"While the Irish presidency is a mostly ceremonial role, this election takes place amid a historic shift towards a more polarised political system, Barry Colfer, director of research at Dublin's Institute of International and European Affairs, told Al Jazeera. Since the establishment of the Irish Free State in December 1922 and the subsequent end of the Irish Civil War in May 1923, Irish politics, unlike in other European countries, have not been drawn along left-right lines, he said."
"What we're seeing today for the first time in Irish history is a presidential election between objectively left-wing and right-wing candidates. This change has become more apparent in recent years. In the 2020 general election, left-wing nationalist party Sinn Fein the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army won the most first-preference votes for the first time since the country's founding, bringing an end to the traditional two-party dominance of the centre-right parties Fianna Fail (FF) and Fine Gael (FG)."
A candidate withdrawal has left a hotly contested race to succeed President Michael D Higgins, with voters set to elect a president for a seven-year term. The presidency remains largely ceremonial, but the election unfolds amid growing political polarisation not previously seen since the establishment of the Irish Free State and the end of the Civil War. For the first time, a presidential contest pits clearly left-wing and right-wing candidates. Sinn Féin won the most first-preference votes in 2020, breaking the long two-party dominance of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, which have since formed coalitions with other groups.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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