candidatewatch.ie is a project of the German non-profit organisation Parlamentwatch e.V. with the support of Ashoka Ireland.

CandidateWatch originated in Germany where, since 2005, over 100,000 questions have been submitted by voters to candidates and elected representatives. More than 80 per cent of these questions were responded to. Our experience in Germany has shown that this innovative voters’ service can help to significantly improve the objectivity of an election campaign.

Each question submitted through CandidateWatch is read before publication to ensure that it complies with our Code of Conduct, available for download from the website. This moderation ensures that the website is free from abusive, personally intrusive questions or spam.

All candidates can use CandidateWatch as a forum for dialogue with their voters. In addition, the personal profile of each candidate includes details such as name, party affiliation, age and occupation.