2020 Irish general election facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
2020 Irish general election

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159 of 160 seats in Dáil Éireann 80 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	62.9% 2.2pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Micheál Martin Mary Lou McDonald Leo Varadkar Party Fianna Fáil Sinn Féin Fine Gael Leader since 26 January 2011 10 February 2018 2 June 2017 Leader's seat Cork South-Central Dublin Central Dublin West Last election 44 seats, 24.3% 23 seats, 13.8% 50 seats, 25.5% Seats before 45 22 47 Seats won 38 37 35 Seat change 7 15 12 Popular vote 484,320 535,595 455,584 Percentage 22.2% 24.5% 20.9% Swing 2.1% 10.7% 4.7%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Eamon Ryan Brendan Howlin Catherine Murphy Róisín Shortall Party Green Labour Social Democrats (Ireland) Leader since 27 May 2010 20 May 2016 15 July 2015 Leader's seat Dublin Bay South Wexford Kildare North Dublin North-West Last election 2 seats, 2.7% 7 seats, 6.6% 3 seats, 3.0% Seats before 3 7 2 Seats won 12 6 6 Seat change 9 1 4 Popular vote 155,700 95,588 63,404 Percentage 7.1% 4.4% 2.9% Swing 4.4% 2.2% 0.1%   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   Leader Collective leadership Peadar Tóibín None Party Solidarity–People Before Profit Aontú Independents 4 Change Leader since n/a 28 January 2019 n/a Leader's seat n/a Meath West n/a Last election 6 seats, 3.9% New party 4 seats, 1.5% Seats before 6 1 1 Seats won 5 1 1 Seat change 1 0 0 Popular vote 57,420 41,614 8,421 Percentage 2.6% 1.9% 0.4% Swing 1.3% New party 1.1%
Results of the election by constituency.
Taoiseach before election Leo Varadkar Fine Gael Elected Taoiseach Micheál Martin Fianna Fáil

The 2020 Irish general election was a big vote held in the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, 8 February 2020. People voted to choose new members for Dáil Éireann, which is like Ireland's parliament. This election was special because it was the first time since 1918 that a general election happened on a weekend instead of a weekday.

Election Results Explained

The election ended with a "hung parliament." This means no single political party won enough seats to form a government on its own. There are 160 seats in the Dáil, and a party or group needs at least 80 seats to have a majority.

Top Parties and Their Seats

• Fianna Fáil won the most seats, with 38.
• Sinn Féin got the most first-choice votes from people and ended up with 37 seats. This was their best result ever in modern Ireland.
• Fine Gael, the party of the previous leader, Leo Varadkar, came in third with 35 seats.

Forming a New Government

Because no two parties had enough seats together to reach 80, the main parties had to work with smaller parties or independent politicians. This is called forming a coalition government. It means different parties agree to work together to lead the country.

Understanding Opinion Polls

Before an election, opinion polls are surveys that ask people who they plan to vote for. These polls help show how popular different parties and leaders are.

The chart below shows the results of these polls leading up to the 2020 election.

This chart shows how public opinion changed for the main political parties before the 2020 election.

See also

In Spanish: Elecciones generales de Irlanda de 2020 para niños