Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

Presidential voting rights for all citizens of Ireland has always been high on the agenda for Sinn Féin. We strongly believe all Irish citizens resident on the island of Ireland should have the right to vote in our presidential elections. The President represents all the people of Ireland and it is only right that all citizens on this island be allowed to vote for their first citizen, their Uachtaráin. Successive polls have shown the majority of Irish people support voting rights in presidential elections being extended to all Irish citizens. There is clear and undeniable momentum towards extending voting rights and enhancing the democratic rights of Irish citizens. This would be a positive step and would strengthen and enrich our democratic process.

It is a glaring anomaly that an Irish citizen living in the Six Counties can stand for election as, and be elected as, President but cannot vote to elect a President. This is an insult to the 1.8 million-plus Irish citizens living in the Six Counties, who have historically been denied participation in the life of their own nation by the historic and undemocratic injustice of partition. It is now 12 years since the constitutional convention in Dublin voted overwhelmingly to extend voting rights and nine years since Fine Gael reaffirmed its commitment to holding a referendum to make the necessary changes to the Constitution. Disappointingly, no progress whatsoever has been made since. We cannot allow this to continue. We need to grant a voice to all Irish citizens and ensure they are no longer excluded from voting to elect their President. November's election must be the last presidential election that excludes Irish citizens in the Six Counties.

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