"Catherine Connolly has won Ireland's presidential election by a landslide, official results on Saturday showed. Connolly, an independent candidate who was backed by the left-wing opposition, won over 64.7% of the vote, beating Heather Humphreys of the centrist Fine Gael party, who won 28.2%. Jim Gavin, of the Fianna Fail party, came in third with just over 7%, although he had pulled out of the running earlier this month amid controversy of a rent payment scandal, leaving Connolly and Humphreys as the only viable candidates."
"Connolly, a 68-year-old lawmaker from Galway, built her campaign around messages of "peace," "unity," and "neutrality." A fluent Irish speaker, she hails from the far-left of Ireland's political spectrum, and was endorsed by Sinn Fein, Labour, the Social Democrats and other left-leaning parties. Connolly has been fiercely critical of the United States and the European Union, even though Ireland is overwhelmingly pro-EU."
"She has voiced her opposition to increased military spending in the EU since the war in Ukraine began. Connolly has also compared defense spending in Germany to the 1930s. Connolly has slammed the US, UK and France for their roles in the war in Gaza. Some of her views on these issues are likely to place her at odds with Ireland's center-right government."
Catherine Connolly won Ireland's presidential election with 64.7% of the vote, defeating Heather Humphreys (28.2%) and Jim Gavin (just over 7%). Connolly is an independent backed by left-wing parties and will succeed Michael D Higgins in the largely ceremonial presidency. Fewer than half of eligible voters turned out, with turnout at 46.3%. Connolly, a 68-year-old Galway lawmaker, campaigned on peace, unity and neutrality and is a fluent Irish speaker. She occupies the far-left of the political spectrum and was endorsed by Sinn Fein, Labour and the Social Democrats. She has criticized the US and EU and opposes increased EU military spending.
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