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A Dummy guide to GE 2011

  • 08-02-2011 10:49am
    #1
    dave1982
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,604 ✭✭✭


    Sorry for my stupidity but can some one please explain the General election

    How many votes do a certain person need to get a seat in the Dail

    I'm in Cork east where there are 4 seats, do that mean 4 TD's from east Cork will be in the Dail?

    Are coalitions compulsory or do it just happen that way due to public voting

    And seeming FF are supposedly not going for a majority do that mean they will not be in Government for the next term?

    Will FF get pay offs/severance payment should they be voted out?

    I'm sure i'll have more questions soon

    But thanks for taking time to answer if you can


Comments

  • #2
    Cool Mo D
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,419 ✭✭✭Cool Mo D


    dave1982 wrote: »
    Sorry for my stupidity but can some one please explain the General election

    How many votes do a certain person need to get a seat in the Dail

    I'm in Cork east where there are 4 seats, do that mean 4 TD's from east Cork will be in the Dail?

    Are coalitions compulsory or do it just happen that way due to public voting

    And seeming FF are supposedly not going for a majority do that mean they will not be in Government for the next term?

    Will FF get pay offs/severance payment should they be voted out?

    I'm sure i'll have more questions soon

    But thanks for taking time to answer if you can

    The number of votes depends on the number of voters and the numbers of seats in the constituency. 4 seats means 4 TDs.

    With four seats, you need 20% of the votes, plus 1 extra vote to get a seat. If there are seats remaining after the first count of the votes, the person with the least votes is eliminated, and their second preferences allocated, and this is repeated until all the seats are filled.

    Coalitions are not compulsory, but the nature of the voting system makes it very hard to get a total majority of TDs. You need 83 TDs for an absolute majority, this hasn't happened since 1977.

    FF are not going to get a majority, but they don't need one to be in Government. They did not have a majority last time either. They will only be in Government if someone goes into coalition with them, which is very unlikely.

    All outgoing TDs are entitled to very generous pensions based on how long they have served. Ex-ministers get even larger pensions.


  • #3
    dave1982
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,604 ✭✭✭dave1982


    Thanks for explaining so clearly:)


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