Pursuant to an advice of the Taoiseach, Mr. Leo Varadkar, under Article 13.2 of the Constitution, the President has today dissolved Dáil Éireann and has summoned the incoming Dáil to meet on Thursday, 20 February, 2020, at 12 noon.
To stand for election to Dáil Éireann, a candidate must be a citizen of Ireland and at least 21 years of age by polling day. A person may nominate himself or herself as a candidate or, with his or her consent, may be nominated by a person who is registered as an elector in the constituency concerned. A candidate not in possession of a certificate of political affiliation (confirmation that a person is a candidate of a political party registered in the register of political parties) must have their nomination completed using either of the following options: by way of assents requiring the completion of statutory declarations by 30 assentors (registered electors) in the relevant Dáil constituency, or by way of the candidate, or someone on his or her behalf, lodging a deposit of €500 with the returning officer.
The latest time for receiving nominations is 12 noon on Wednesday 22 January 2020. Candidates may withdraw their nominations up to 12 noon on Thursday 23 January 2020.
Every person who is an Irish or British citizen and is included in the register of electors is entitled to vote at the General Election; over 3.3 million are entitled to vote at Dáil elections.
A person eligible to vote but not yet registered as an elector still has time to apply for entry in the supplement to the register to be published before polling day and so be able to vote on Saturday 8 February 2020. To be eligible, a person must be 18 years of age or over on or before polling day and be ordinarily resident in the constituency.
For inclusion in the supplement to the register, a person completes the relevant application form (RFA2), which can be downloaded from www.checktheregister.ie or can be obtained from city, county, and city and county councils. Application forms will need to be received by the registration authority for the area in which the applicant is resident not later than Wednesday 22 January 2020. For those seeking inclusion in the supplement to the postal and special voters lists, the relevant application forms will need to be received by the registration authority not later than Thursday 16 January 2020.
Voting, to elect 159 members (excluding the Ceann Comhairle) to the 33rd Dáil, will take place in the 39 constituencies specified in the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017.
Further information in relation to electoral matters is available on the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government's website at http://www.housing.gov.ie/en/LocalGovernment/Voting/