Higgins wins Irish presidency with 57 pct of votes

Michael D. Higgins, a veteran left-wing politician, poet and human rights activist, was declared the winner Saturday of Irelands presidential election with nearly 57 percent of votes, and pledged to lift the spirits of a struggling nation.Higgins said he wanted to help revive the publics faith in politicians at a time when Ireland faces record debts, a property market collapse, 15 percent unemployment and a fourth staight year of severe spending cuts.The diminutive Higgins, 70, beamed with pride as he received congratulations inside Dublin Castle from government leaders and most rival candidates. He announced he would resign immediately as president and member of the Labour Party, the junior member of Irelands coalition government, because his new role as ceremonial head of state meant he must be a president for all the people.Higgins received more than 1 million votes of the nearly 1.8 million cast in Thursdays election. Referring to the 43 percent of registered voters who didnt cast a ballot, he said, I want to be a president, too, for those who didnt vote, whose trust in public institutions I will encourage and work to recover. ... I dedicate my abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Ireland.Once Higgins is inaugurated as president Nov. 11, he becomes Irelands senior ambassador, tasked with building confidence at home and goodwill abroad.