2020 Green Party leadership election (Ireland)
The 2020 Green Party leadership election was a leadership election within Ireland's Green Party. The election was won by Eamon Ryan who received 51% of the votes cast and retained his position as leader.
Background
The constitution of the Green Party mandates there must always be a leadership contest within the party within six months of a general election. The 2020 Irish general election triggered this election.Eamon Ryan and Catherine Martin have been Leader and Deputy Leader, of the Green party, respectively, since 2011. Ryan was credited with rebuilding the Green Party after it lost all representation in the Oireachtas in 2011. Ryan and Martin were the first two Greens to win back seats as Teachtai Dála at the 2016 Irish general election and in the 2020 Irish general election, the party had its best result ever when it secured 12 seats.
In the prelude to the leadership contest were the government formation talks between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party as they put together the Government of the 33rd Dáil. Catherine Martin served as the Green's lead negotiator in those talks and was considered to have stood firm for the Greens' demands.
Procedure
Candidates must receive 50 nominations by party members. All members of the party have a vote, provided they have been a paid-up party member, including members from Northern Ireland.Postal ballot papers were sent to Green party members on 1 July and the closing date for returning votes was 22 July. The results were announced on 23 July 2020.
Canidates
| Candidate | Born | Political office | Announced |
| 28 7 1963 Dundrum, County Dublin | Leader of the Green Party Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources TD for Dublin South TD for Dublin Bay South | - | |
| 7 12 1972 Monaghan Town, County Monaghan | Deputy Leader of the Green Party Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht TD for Dublin Rathdown | 6 June 2020 |
Within the Green Party, Martin's candidacy was seen to represent the views of younger, more radical Green Party members who did not wish to enter into coalition with Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, in contrast to the leadership of Eamon Ryan which was seen to represent the moderate "old guard" who are open to working with those parties. There was also the view amongst some Green Party members that Martin would be a sterner, more hardnosed leader than the more relaxed and approachable Ryan, and that Martin's more aggressive approach would be needed to safeguard the party against Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil backsliding on promises to them. Supporters of Ryan argued that his warm manner is what helped him build relations both inside and outside of the party, and this would be important in holding the three parties together in government as well as settling the party down after divisive issues such as entering government and the leadership contest itself.
Debates
4 internal debates were held over the course of election. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the debates were held online via Zoom conferences. Each debate was held with before members of a particular constituency, whom were allowed questions of each candidate. Over the course of debates, Ryan generally presented himself as the experienced and dependable choice while Martin presented herself as more able to communicate with rural Ireland and build the party's support there, as well as stressing the importance of pursueing Social Justice. Both candidates stressed they did not want the contest to divide the party, and regardless of who won, the leader would need to heal any wounds within the party and rebuild the party's cohesiveness.| Date | Constituency | Reference |
| 7 July 2020 | South | |
| 11 July 2020 | Dublin | |
| 14 July 2020 | Midlands–North-West `` | |
| 14 July 2020 | Northern Ireland |