Party leader Peadar Tóibín says: “This is a legacy bill that will transform the country. In six years’ time, it will mean an all-island presidential election for the first time.”
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín presented his Voting Rights in Presidential Elections Bill today (Thursday), saying: “This gives the right to vote to all Irish citizens across the country, in presidential elections.
“Enfranchising one million Irish citizens is massively important. It’s historic, in many ways. It has significant consequences. The last time Irish citizens in the north of Ireland got a chance to vote in an all-Ireland election was in 1918.”
“Imagine you were refused the right to vote in the presidential election, as an Irish citizen. You would be furious and see it as an affront to your democratic rights. Yet that’s exactly what is happening.”
He said the Dail had the power to change that. “The sheer joy you would afford citizens. A person from the North of Ireland can campaign in the presidential election. They can put their name in as a candidate. They can win the presidential election and be the president of this country.
“But they can’t vote in it. We do that to over 700,000 passport-holders. They can fight and die for Ireland, yet they currently don’t have a right to vote in a democratic election.
“In 100 years, if you pass a bill such as this, it will be the issue you will be remembered for. It is a legacy bill – a bill that transforms this country in its ability to include everybody in the island of Ireland. Take it and run with it.
“And the next election will be the first time everyone can vote in a presidential election as equal Irish citizens.”
