Michael D Higgins elected Ireland's ninth president

By Fiona Smith Oct 29, 2011, 16:45 GMT

Dublin - Michael D Higgins thanked 'the over 1 million people who said I was acceptable to them as the ninth president of Ireland,' as he was declared elected at Dublin Castle Saturday.

'The Irish people have given me a clear mandate for a clear set of ideas and I will be a president for all the people,' the Labour candidate and former arts minister said in his acceptance speech.

Higgins got 39.6 per cent of first-preference votes and was elected president after the fourth count with 1,007,104 votes.

'This campaign involved a choice about which Ireland we wanted to be,' he said, vowing to create a society based on 'inclusion, equality and respect.'

Congratulating Higgins, Prime Minister Enda Kenny said he would be 'an outstanding president.'

Higgins' nearest rival, independent candidate Sean Gallagher, gained 28.5 per cent of the vote in Thursday's election to replace Mary McAleese.

Sinn Fein candidate and Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness came in third with 13.7 per cent of the vote.

Gay Mitchell, candidate for the ruling Fine Gael, the Labour Party's senior coalition partner, captured just 6.4 per cent of the vote.

Turnout was 55.6 per cent in Thursday's polls, which had a record seven candidates competing for the role.

Four counts were required to bring Higgins past the 51 per cent necessary to be officially elected, but it became apparent Friday morning that he had an unassailable lead on Gallagher.

His six presidential rivals each conceded defeat in turn Friday, offering their congratulations to the 70-year-old.

Outsider Gallagher, who had a 15-point lead in the opinion polls last weekend, saw his support crumble in a crushing defeat attributed to his ties to Fianna Fail.

Labour Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore said it had been an honour to nominate Higgins for the job.

'This is a good day for the Labour Party. I'm really happy for him. I'm really delighted that he succeeded,' Gilmore said.

Sinn Fein's McGuinness alleged on television Monday that Gallagher had received a 5,000-euro (6,950-dollar) cheque on Fianna Fail's behalf from a businessman with a conviction for tax fraud and fuel smuggling.

McGuinness is claiming a tactical victory, having beaten the candidate of governing Fine Gael, which led the attacks on him over his Irish Republican Army past.

'We will have to take stock of the decision of the electorate. We are the biggest party in the country and we will have to work to remain there,' Fine Gael general secretary Tom Curran said Saturday.

Among the also-rans were independent Senator David Norris with 6.2 per cent of the vote. The gay activist's campaign imploded after revelations that he had written letters pleading for clemency for his former lover, convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy in Israel.

Independent candidate, former Eurovision winner Dana Rosemary Scallon, won just 2.9 per cent of the vote, while Special Olympics director for Europe and Eurasia Mary Davis won 2.7-per-cent support.

Higgins will be inaugurated on November 11, the day after McAleese, who served two seven-year terms, leaves office.