Ireland: Leftist Katherine Connelly Wins Presidency

SadaNews - Leftist candidate Katherine Connelly has won the Irish presidential elections, becoming the tenth president of the country, defeating her rival Heather Humphreys with 63.4% of the votes compared to 29.5% for Humphreys.

The elections were held on Friday, and the counting of votes began on Saturday morning, while the process witnessed a decline in voter turnout and a record number of canceled votes, some of which carried anti-immigration messages or the phrase "No Democracy."

Connelly, 68 years old, will succeed the current president Michael Higgins (84 years old), who has held the position for two consecutive terms since 2011. Connelly is the third woman to assume the presidency of Ireland, and the first time since 1990 that only two candidates competed for the position.

Heather Humphreys acknowledged her defeat via the public television channel "RTÉ," noting that Connelly would be a president for all. Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris also congratulated Connelly and wished her success.

Connelly, a former lawyer and a parliamentarian since 2016, promised to work towards unifying the island of Ireland and engaging with citizens in Northern Ireland, in addition to focusing on housing and social welfare issues, even within boundaries that exceed the traditional powers of the president.

Connelly enjoys the support of the main opposition parties, including the Green Party and the nationalist Sinn Féin party, expressing strong leftist positions on foreign policy, housing, and workers' rights.

She opposes increased defense spending while maintaining Ireland's military neutrality policy. Last September, she reiterated her condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is known for her support of the Palestinian cause.