The Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1958 was a proposal to amend the Constitution of Ireland to alter the electoral system from proportional representation under the single transferable vote (PR-STV) to first-past-the-post (FPTP). The proposal was rejected in a referendum held on 17 June 1959. This was the same date as the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

in which Taoiseach Éamon de Valera was elected as president.

Proposed change

The subject matter of the referendum was described as follows: :The Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1958 – :At present, members of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

are elected on a system of proportional representation for constituencies returning at least three members, each voter having a single transferable vote. It is proposed in the Bill to abolish the system of proportional representation and to adopt, instead, a system of single-member constituencies, each voter having a single non-transferable vote. It is also proposed in the Bill to set up a Commission for the determination and revision of the constituencies, instead of having this done by the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

, as at present.

Background

Proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote had been used in Irish elections since the 1920 local elections. Under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, it was prescribed for elections to both the

Southern Ireland House of Commons The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a Home Rule legislature established by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was designed to legislate for Southern Ireland,"Order in Counc ...

and the

Northern Ireland House of Commons The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the ''Government of Ireland Act 1920''. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished wit ...

(Northern Ireland was to revert to FPTP for the 1929 election). On independence in 1922, it was prescribed under the Constitution of the Irish Free State for elections to Dáil Éireann. Similarly, under the Constitution of Ireland adopted in 1937, Article 16.2.5º prescribed PR-STV, while 16.2.6º specified that the number of members in a constituency would not be less than three. The amendment proposed to alter the electoral system for elections to

to first-past-the-post (FPTP) under single-seat constituencies. It also proposed to establish an independent commission for the drawing of constituency boundaries on a constitutional basis. It was introduced by the Fianna Fáil government of Éamon de Valera but was opposed by Fine Gael, the main opposition party, and by the Labour Party.

Oireachtas debate

The amendment was proposed by Taoiseach Éamon de Valera on 12 November 1958. It was passed by the Dáil on 28 January 1959 by 74 votes to 55. On 19 March 1959, it was rejected in the Seanad by 29 votes to 28. Under Article 23.1, the Dáil may vote to deem a bill to have been passed by the Seanad by a resolution passed after a period of 90 days from being sent by the Dáil to the Seanad. On 13 May 1959, the Dáil passed such a resolution by 75 votes to 56, and the bill proceeded to a referendum.

Result

Aftermath

A second attempt by Fianna Fáil to abolish PR was rejected by voters in the 1968 referendum on the electoral system.

References

Sources

* *

Citations

External links

Referendum (Amendment) Act, 1959
{{Amendments of the Constitution of Ireland 1958 in Irish politics 1959 in Irish politics 1959 in Irish law 1959 referendums 03a 03a Single transferable vote Amendment, 03 Electoral reform referendums June 1959 events in Europe