A bye-election is an election to fill a seat that has been vacated in between general or Seanad elections.
There are currently two seats vacant in the Dáil- the bye-elections are for 1 seat each in the Dublin Central and Galway West constituencies.
If an elected member of the Dáil dies, resigns or retires, the election to fill their seat must be called within six months. This can be done by a bye-election or if a general election is called within the six month period.
A seat has become vacant in Galway West as Catherine Connolly was elected as President last October, who was previously a TD in that constituency.
A seat has become vacant in Dublin Central due to Paschal Donohue a TD in that constituency, resigning last November to take on a position at the World Bank.
The bye-elections will be taking place only in Dublin Central and Galway West.
In order to vote in the bye-election you must be a resident in one of the two constituencies.
Voters must be over 18 years old, an Irish or British citizen and must be registered to vote.
The deadline to register to vote is May 5th and you can register here.
The voting process for a bye-election is the same as a general election.
There will be a number of candidates on the ballot paper for each constituency and you must mark your first preference as 1 and so on.
To make sure your vote is counted you must make your preference as clear as possible.
To make sure that your vote is not considered invalid, do not make any other mark on the ballot paper.
Majority of the time, the candidate who tops the vote on the first count goes on to win the bye-election.
At the election count, the quota is calculated-which is the number of votes a candidate needsto be elected.
After the first count takes place and no candidate has reached the quota, "the candidate with the lowest number of first preferences will be excluded and the next preferences of those ballot papers will be distributed among the remaining candidates."
Nominations for candidates will close on May 1st.
