simplified explanation of whats needed to get into power

positivenote

HI all,
Im looking to explain the ins and outs of the election process to my kids and im looking for somewhere that explains it in a simplified way. How many seats does a party need to become the govt? what if all the independents elected in their constituencies? is that a govt? whats a rainbow? coalition etc??
any help would be great
Thanks

johnnyskeleton

positivenote wrote: »

HI all,
Im looking to explain the ins and outs of the election process to my kids and im looking for somewhere that explains it in a simplified way.

Most of the info is on wikipedia and citizensinformation.ie. you can search for specific questions. I prefer wikipedia because its kept up to date so has very precise detail.

How many seats does a party need to become the govt?

If they have half plus one or more, then have the majority of seats. So 79 out of 158 seats will ensure that a party or coalition can out vote the other members on any piece of legislation.

There are other aspects - ceann comhairle doesnt normally vote, minority governments, backbench revolts etc. Also the party doesnt become the government, so much as the party leader is appointed taoiseach and the taoiseach decides on who his ministers will be.

what if all the independents elected in their constituencies? is that a govt?

I dont understand the question. If 79 independents can select someone as taoiseach and will suppory him/her for her tenure in government then yes, you can have a government composed of independent i.e. non party TDs.

whats a rainbow? coalition etc??

A coalition is a group of two or more parties that agree to share power under one taoiseah. Rainbow coalition is a reference to a multicoloured coalition (e.g. FG (blue), Lab (red), Green (green)) as opposed to say a coalition of 3 socialist (red) parties.