Over recent decades, independent (non-party) candidates have become the largest political grouping in Irish politics. Within this grouping, one subsection that seems to dominate are the...Show moreOver recent decades, independent (non-party) candidates have become the largest political grouping in Irish politics. Within this grouping, one subsection that seems to dominate are the independents who have previously been party candidates, a.k.a. ex-party independents. The electoral system in Ireland has a big role to play in this. While in most electoral systems, leaving a political party (and not joining another) usually signals the end of one’s career, this is not necessarily the case in PR-STV systems, where ex-party independents can survive and sometimes even thrive outside of the party system. In the elections following their departure, these candidates can win large amounts of votes and transfers, with a significant number of those coming from their ex-party. This paper examines the relationships between ex-party independents and their former parties, focusing on the transfers that these candidate receives from that party. Furthermore, it aims to add to the study of ex-party independent candidates in Ireland, focusing on issues like electability, career longevity, origin parties, etc. and compares the performance of ex-party independents with those of other independent candidates.Show less
