Aontú plans bill for Northern Irish voting rights in presidential elections

The Aontú political party has submitted a bill to the Irish parliament seeking to allow Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland to vote in the Republic of Ireland's presidential elections, a move party leader Peadar Tóibín describes as 'historic.' Currently, over one million Irish citizens in Northern Ireland are ineligible to vote, despite many holding Irish passports and being eligible to stand as presidential candidates. The bill, titled the '39th Amendment of the Constitution (Voting Rights in Presidential Elections) Bill 2025,' aims to address this discrepancy, highlighting that the power to grant these voting rights resides with the Irish government and not with authorities in London or Belfast. Tóibín emphasized that the Good Friday Agreement affirms the right of people born in Northern Ireland to Irish citizenship, yet the Irish state restricts their voting rights. While a 2013 constitutional convention supported extending the franchise to citizens outside the Republic, the necessary constitutional change would require a referendum. Some politicians reportedly fear this change could increase the likelihood of a Sinn Féin president.