2022 Caldish general election
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All 399 seats to the Tionól 200 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 81.6% ( 6%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A general election was held in Caldia on 12 June 2022 to elect all 399 members of the Tionól. The Social Democratic Party won the largest share of the votes and overall seats.
Overall, the election saw gains for many of the other parties in the Tionól at the expense of the Social Democratic Party. The PSD saw a drop in its seat count and vote share after a historic showing in 2019. Stiofán Mac Suibhne, the incumbent Taoiseach of Caldia, returned to lead a minority government with the support of the Centre Party and the Democratic Left.
Background
The 2019 general election saw the Social Democratic Party win a majority of seats and form their first government in almost 20 years. The PSD won 218 seats with 48.8% of the vote. Stiofán Mac Suibhne became the taoiseach and has held the post since. The office opposition, led by Pádraig Mac Piarais of the Liberty Party, won 89 seats. Other opposition parties included the National Party, the Centre Party, the Labour Party (now Democratic Left), the Greens, Caldish Democrats, the Pensioners' Party, and Homeland. Two Independents were also elected.
The government passed the Instrument for Governance Act of 2021, reforming the constitution. The Comhthionól Náisiúnta effectively became the unicameral Tionól starting on 12 May 2021.
Electoral system
Of the 399 members of the Tionól, 200 are elected in multi-member constituencies and 199 are selected based on a party's vote share. The presiding officer is automatically re-elected if standing again, but if the incumbent retires all 399 seats would be contested.
Members are elected using mixed-member proportional representation. Caldia has 52 multi-member constituencies. Each consistency consists of three to five members. Members are selected using a version of single-transferable vote known as the Ní Dochartaigh method. Under this process, voters rank candidates by first and second preference. Unlike other methods of single transferable vote, they can only rank candidates in this order and cannot transfer their vote to more than one additional candidate.
The remaining members are allocated to parties who rank their candidates on an open list in which voters can rank candidates on their own. Voters can either support a party's top candidate or give their vote to another candidate on the list. This could allow a candidate to move up the list. For this to occur, a candidate must receive more than 25% of the total number of votes cast for the party. This allows for parties to retain significant control over candidates elected on the open list.
For a new party to become eligible, it has to register the support of 25,000 registered voters with the Caldish Electoral Board before 12 May 2021. For a new party to enter the Tionól it has to receive more than 2.5% of the national vote share or win a seat in a multi-member constituency. Independents only require the support of 10,000 registered voters, making ballot access easier.
Participating parties
| Party | Leader(s) | Last election | |||||
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| Votes (%) | Seats | ||||||
| PSD | Social Democratic Party | Stiofán Mac Suibhne | 48.8 | 218 / 399
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| S | Liberty Party | Áine Nic Gille | 18.4 | 89 / 399
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| PN | National Party | Liam Ó Cuillinn | 13.6 | 57 / 399
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| DC | Democratic Left | Seán Ó Caoláin | 4 | 8 / 399
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| PM | Centre Party | Lachlann Mac an Fhleisteir | 3.1 | 12 / 399
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| G | The Greens | Colm Ó Corráin Ciara Nic Innes |
3 | 6 / 399
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| D | Caldish Democrats | Muirís Ó Branagáin | 2.5 | 5 / 399
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| PP | Pensioners | Ellie Níc Raghnaill | 1.2 | 1 / 399
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| M/TD | Homeland | Einion ap Calder | .2 | 1 / 399
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| N | Independents | Individual candidates | 1.3 | 2 / 399
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| Extra-parliamentary parties | |||||||
| PNG | Caldish Independence Party | Aisling Nic an t-Saoir | 2.3 | none | |||
| PD | Humanist Party | Sinéad Nic an t-Saoir | .4 | none | |||
| PnA | Party for the Animals | Collective leadership | .3 | none | |||
| Y/AA | Forward | Duane ap Drummond | .2 | none | |||
| PT | Future Party | Deirdre Nic Chuilinn | .2 | none | |||
| CA | Highland Alliance | Fionnbharr Mac Lulaich | .1 | none | |||
| P | The Party | Eoghan Ó Cadhla | .1 | none | |||
| CD | Clane First | Rían Ó Raghallaigh | did not contest | ||||
| LCOD | Caoimhín Ó Dubhthaigh List | Caoimhín Ó Dubhthaigh | did not exist | ||||
| VOX | Vox Together | Mahya Abedi Treasa Maor |
did not exist | ||||
Campaign issues
The campaign officially began on 12 May when the Tionól was dissolved and entered the general election recess. Before the start of the formal campaign, several issues had emerged that would come to define the campaign. The Mac Suibhne government's agenda, namely its policies regarding taxation and increased spending, were key issues debated by opposition parties.
Other issues at the forefront of the campaign where good governance, environmentalism, immigration, and social cohesiveness. Mac Suibhne was criticized for his long-standing support of Gearóid Mac Mhaighstir, a former Labour Minister. The PSD ran on an anti-corruption message in 2019 and was accused of abandoning that by opposition parties, namely the newly formed Caoimhín Ó Dubhthaigh List.
There were four debates where these issues were debated by party leaders of all incumbent parties in the Tionól. There was one head to head debate between Mac Suibhne and Áine Nic Gille, leader of the Liberty Party. A special debate centered around Caithia was also held.
Opinion polls
Results
| 184 | 95 | 60 | 19 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| PSD | Liberty | PN | PM | DG | G | DC | Ind. |
Open list vote share of different parties in the election.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | ||
| Social Democratic Party (PSD) | 2,230,286 | 36.58 | 184 | -34 | ||
| Liberty Party (S) | 1,194,698 | 19.6 | 95 | +6 | ||
| National Party (PN) | 853,562 | 14 | 60 | +3 | ||
| Centre Party (PM) | 373,504 | 6.13 | 19 | +7 | ||
| Caldish Democrats (DG) | 240,521 | 4.8 | 10 | +5 | ||
| The Greens (G) | 292,478 | 3.95 | 8 | +2 | ||
| Democratic Left (DC) | 189,899 | 3.11 | 6 | -2 | ||
| Vox Together (VOX) | 161,552 | 2.3 | 5 | +5 | ||
| Caoimhín Ó Dubhthaigh List (LCOD) | 153,183 | 2.51 | 5 | +5 | ||
| Pensioners' Party (PP) | 80,546 | 1.31 | 1 | – | ||
| Clane First (CD) | – | – | 1 | +1 | ||
| Scarp Independence (NS) | – | – | 1 | +1 | ||
| Homeland (M/TD) | – | – | 1 | – | ||
| Caldish Independence Party (PNG) | 109,478 | 1.8 | 0 | – | ||
| Future Party (PT) | 34,893 | .57 | 0 | – | ||
| Highland Alliance (CA) | 13,335 | .22 | 0 | – | ||
| The Party (P) | 11,902 | .2 | 0 | – | ||
| Country Party (PT) | 8751 | .11 | 0 | – | ||
| Humanist Party (PD) | 6584 | .11 | 0 | – | ||
| Together for Peace (LCS) | 6437 | .11 | 0 | – | ||
| SOLIDARITY - We Can! (D-IFL) | 5437 | .11 | 0 | – | ||
| Better Caldia (GNF) | 4096 | .07 | 0 | – | ||
| Party for the Animals (PnA) | 4004 | .07 | 0 | – | ||
| Senior Citizens' Party of Caldia (PSG) | 3410 | .06 | 0 | – | ||
| People Over Corporations (DTC) | 3351 | .05 | 0 | – | ||
| Sotirian People's Party (PPS) | 2997 | .05 | 0 | – | ||
| No More! (Ea) | 2871 | .05 | 0 | – | ||
| Free and Equal (SC) | 2476 | .04 | 0 | – | ||
| Party for the East (PO) | 1783 | .03 | 0 | – | ||
| Irfanic Democrats (DI) | 1239 | .02 | 0 | – | ||
| Independents | 75,454 | 1.24 | 3 | +1 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 44,228 | – | – | – | ||
| Total | 6,112,955 | 100 | 399 | 0 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 7,495,142 | 81.6 | – | – | ||
Aftermath
The Social Democratic Party was returned as the largest party. When the newly elected Tionól was seated on 20 June. Claudia Kubenea was elected as the Ceann Comhairle.
As the leader of the largest party, Mac Suibhne was invited by King Kenneth IV to form a second government. Mac Suibhne began talks with the Centre Party and the Democratic Left soon after. The three parties were seen as unlikely of forming a coalition government, Mac Suibhne was speculated to be working to earn their support to form a minority government. Negotiations continued through the summer recess and an agreement was announced on 10 August 2022. After the Tionól returned from recess, the second Mac Suibhne government was formed after a vote named him as taoiseach.
As a minority government, the Social Democrats relied on the Centre Party and Democratic Left to pass budget motions. Other minor opposition parties also supported these motions.