The Irish Democratic Party (IDP) was a minor Irish

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

formed in 2013, as a result of a split with

Direct Democracy Ireland Direct Democracy Ireland (, ) is a minor political party in Ireland. It has no representation at local or national level. Established in 2010, Direct Democracy Ireland (DDI) was registered as a political party in October 2012. The organisation ...

. Another minor party of the same name but different ideology and leadership had been established in 2010 but was later dissolved. The party advocates the introduction of

participatory democracy Participatory democracy, participant democracy or participative democracy is a form of government in which citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected rep ...

in the Republic of Ireland. The IDP ran two candidates in the 2016 general election, the party chairperson

Ken Smollen Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

ran in

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

. He received 2.2% of the first preference votes and was eliminated on the second count. Smollen was elected to Offaly County Council for

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, midlands reg ...

in the 2019 local elections on the eighth count. He received 1,054 votes and 9.5% of the first preferences. Mark Keogh who ran in the 2016 general election in Limerick, ran unsuccessfully as a Direct Democracy candidate in the 2019 local elections. Smollen was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2020 general election in the Laois–Offaly constituency. Smollen left the party in October 2020 and, as of 2021, was an independent councillor. Since November 2020, the IDP is no longer a registered political party.

References

{{Historic Irish parties 2013 establishments in Ireland 2020 disestablishments in Ireland Centrist parties in Europe Political parties established in 2013 Political parties disestablished in 2020 Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland