Ireland takes to the polls on Friday for local elections.
Millions of residents are eligible to vote in the elections, with polling stations open at 7am.
There are 31 local authorities in the Republic. Each county and city council is divided into local electoral areas with a specified number of council seats to be filled in the election.
In total, there are 166 electoral areas and each of them elects a number of councillors. The number of councillors to be elected nationally is 949.
These representatives are tasked with making policy decisions at local level, including on planning and community development.
The results will serve as an important indicator of public opinion ahead of a general election within the next nine months.
The last set of local elections took place in May 2019 against a very different political backdrop. Fianna Fáil won the most council seats overall, the Green Party made historic gains and Sinn Féin lost many of their seats.
This year the three main parties – Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin – are fielding a similar number of candidates across every electoral area.
There are also more than 500 independents standing this year, along with dozens of candidates from new parties, such as Independent Ireland and The Irish People.
Below you can find the full list of all 2,171 candidates standing in this year’s election. Use the search bar to find candidates in your area or local authority.
This year has also seen a record number of women standing for election.
There are 682 women running, about 31 per cent of all candidates. There are two local electoral areas where no women are standing – Corca Dhuibhne in Co Kerry, and Moate in Co Westmeath.
In the 2019 local elections, 561 women ran for a seat, while in 2014, 440 women were candidates.
Fianna Fáil comes bottom of the class among the major parties in terms of the number of women running. Only 25 per cent of its candidates are women.
Fine Gael fares slightly better with 29 per cent female candidates.
Sinn Féin is fielding 335 candidates in the local election, 44 per cent of whom are women.
The Social Democrats and the Green Party have an even number of men and women standing as candidates.
Ireland is currently 103rd in the world when it comes to women’s representation in national politics. At the local level, Ireland ranks sixth-last among European Union countries.
