Elections to be held under proportional representation for the first time

Dublin, 8 January 1920 - The forthcoming municipal elections are set to be the first to feature the use of proportional representation – and specifically the use of the single transferable vote.

The use of this new electoral system is designed to give a voice to minorities. However, it adds a measure of uncertainty to the outcomes of the contests and has raised concerns as to whether voters and candidates are fully informed of its complexities. To counter this, many newspapers have been providing advice on how to fill out ballot papers, but the Cork Examiner has wondered whether, ‘if more practical demonstrations were given and less theoretical explanations, the public would more speedily catch the drift’.

In Dublin, 155 candidates will contest for 80 seats, with Sinn Féin fielding more candidates than any other party. Sinn Féin have been campaigning across the city ahead of the election. At one rally in Bolton Street, Constance Markievicz cycled up to the podium where speeches were being made and, on being recognised, received an immediate ovation. Markievicz delivered an address in support of the candidates and then cycled away.

Some example of Sinn Féin election posters from around Dublin. The party ensured to explain how the new PR system works on their posters. (Images: National Library of Ireland, ILB 300 p 5)

In Cork City, 165 candidates have been nominated for the 56 vacancies on the Borough Council.

Across Ulster, republican and labour parties have come to an agreement to challenge unionism. In Derry Corporation, for instance, a nationalist majority is almost assured.

In the Tyrone town of Dungannon, seven nationalists and six unionists have been returned unopposed in the east and west ward, but in the centre ward four nationalists and five unionists will vie for eight seats which will determine which has a majority on the council.

In Belfast, at a well-attended meeting held by the Pottinger Women’s Unionist Association in the Albertbridge Road Orange Hall, Mrs Harding declared that the elections raised many vital questions for women and that women need to be careful about how they used their vote. Belfast, she said, was a progressive city but it was only under the auspices of unionism that its progress could be maintained.

Polling will take place on 15 January.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]