THE INDEPENDENT REGULATORY body tasked with overseeing the integrity of Irish elections has been asked by Minister for Local Government Darragh O’Brien to consider a range of changes to the Irish electoral system.

One of the possible changes to be studied by the new Electoral Commission, which was established earlier this year, is replacing by-elections with a list system, wherein a TD leaving their post would be automatically replaced by a fellow party member or individual, chosen by the party from a list published at the time of the general election.

At present, in the event of a TD vacating their seat, constituents return to the polls to replace that TD in a new, openly contested election (called a by-election).

Ireland’s most recent by-election took place in Dublin Bay South after the resignation of Fine Gael’s Eoghan Murphy. The ensuing by-election was won by Ivana Bacik, who quickly went on to become leader of the Labour Party.

Today we want to know… Do you think Ireland should do away with by-elections?