Ireland picks new president, polls indicate win for pro-Palestine candidate

Catherine Connolly, whose run was rocked by a last-minute deepfake video, is predicted to win.

Ireland’s voters are electing a caller president, with polls indicating a triumph for left-wing autarkic Catherine Connolly, whose run was rocked by a last-minute deepfake video purporting to amusement her retreating from the race.

Friday’s poll, which closes astatine 10pm (21:00 GMT), with results expected by Saturday evening, sees Connolly competing with Heather Humphreys, of the centre-right Fine Gael party, for the mostly ceremonial role, which accrued successful illustration during the tenure of incumbent Michael D Higgins.

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Connolly’s campaign, backed by left-wing parties including Sinn Fein, has been particularly fashionable among young people, who o.k. of her declaration that reunification with Northern Ireland is simply a “foregone conclusion”, her beardown pro-Palestine stance, her committedness to societal justice, and disapproval of the European Union’s increasing “militarisation”.

A 3rd candidate, Fianna Fail’s Jim Gavin, remains connected the ballot papers contempt quitting the predetermination earlier this period implicit a backstage rent outgo scandal, with critics bemoaning a deficiency of prime successful the two-horse race.

Connolly, 68, a barrister and subordinate of parliament since 2016, emerged arsenic a frontrunner aft Gavin pulled out. She remains successful the pb contempt the emergence of the deepfake video connected Tuesday, which showed an AI-generated mentation of the campaigner announcing her withdrawal connected a fake RTE quality broadcast.

As The Irish Times paper noted successful a caller report, Connolly has besides attracted the younker ballot done her clasp of the Irish connection astatine a clip of taste resurgence brought by films similar The Quiet Girl (An Cailin Ciuin) and bands specified arsenic Northern Ireland’s Kneecap, who sing successful Irish and person taken to X to exhort their fans successful the southbound to backmost the candidate.

Fine Gael’s Humphreys, 64, has been successful authorities for much than a decade, formerly serving successful respective Cabinet positions wherever she oversaw arts and heritage, concern and agrarian development. She has stressed that she is simply a pro-business, pro-EU candidate.

Raised a Presbyterian successful the mostly Catholic country, Humphreys has said she would strive for unity and “build bridges” with communities successful Northern Ireland, which is portion of the United Kingdom and has a ample Protestant population.

Her supporters reason that her idiosyncratic links with Protestants successful the northbound marque a agreed Ireland much likely.

While Humphreys underlined her years of acquisition successful government, Connolly criticised her arsenic a practice of “more of the same,” saying she is aligned with the outlook of caller governments.

The relation of president does not person the powerfulness to signifier laws oregon policies, but Higgins stretched the conventions of the bureau connected a fig of fronts, moving beyond the realm of ceremonial authorities policy.

Higgins said that accusations of anti-Semitism against those who criticise the policies of Israel successful the Gaza warfare amounted to “slander against Ireland”, and suggested that Israel and the countries that proviso it with weapons should beryllium excluded from the United Nations.

Ireland and Spain person been the European Union’s strongest pro-Palestine voices, portion Germany and Hungary person staunchly kept themselves with Israel during its genocidal warfare successful Gaza.