Irish politician, Micheál Martin, has been elected as the county’s prime minister (Taoiseach) for a second time.
Martin, 64, won the parliament’s majority votes to return to the office he held from 2020 to 2022.
In a vote held on Thursday at the Dáil, Ireland’s lower house of parliament, Martin polled 95 votes while 76 lawmakers voted against his election.
After his election, Martin described his return as a “profound honour” and reaffirmed his commitment to leading a “free, democratic, and diverse republic.”
Following the vote in the Dáil, Martin will visit President Michael D. Higgins at his official residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, later in the day to be formally appointed as Taoiseach.
After that, Martin will appoint ministers and return to the Dáil with his cabinet for a final vote on the new government.
The parliamentary vote initially scheduled for Wednesday was delayed after opposition parties raised objections citing a breach in procedure, thereby forcing the Speaker, Verona Murphy, to suspend the vote.
Martin’s reappointment comes nearly two months after Ireland’s November 29 general election, in which his Fianna Fáil party secured the most seats but fell short of an outright majority.
After weeks of negotiations, Fianna Fáil and the center-right Fine Gael party agreed to form a coalition government with support from several independent lawmakers.
Under the new coalition deal, Martin would have to resign midway into his term and handover to the Fine Gael leader, Simon Harris, the outgoing Taoiseach.
The agreement further sets November 16, 2027 as the date for Martin to step down.
Both parties, despite their shared center-right policies, have historically been rivals since their formation on opposing sides of Ireland’s civil war in the 1920s.
