of Ireland, the majority of the Árd Comhairle is from Northern Ireland. For every 2 TDs on the Árd Comhairle, there are 3 MLAs. Some members of the Árd Comhairle hold no public office and are former members of the Provisional IRA. When a decision is made by the Árd Comhairle, all members of Sinn Féin must abide by it without dissent, including the President. In 2020, all of Sinn Féin's candidates in the 2020 Irish general election were required to sign a pledge stating "in all matters pertaining to the duties and functions of an elected representative, I will be guided by and hold myself amenable to all directions and instructions issued to me by An Ard Chomhairle of Sinn Féin". Within the Árd Comhairle, there is a further subdivision, called the Coiste Seasta (Standing Committee), made up of 8 members, who act as a Central Committee. Unlike other Teachtaí Dála from other parties, Sinn Féin TDs are not allowed to hire their own staff and instead the Coiste Seasta chooses staff for them. Some Sinn Féin TDs have complained of these staff members handing them scripts to read publically which they had no input into writing. Some critics inside Sinn Féin have opined that decision-making in the party rests with the officer board and that the Árd Comhairle serves merely to rubberstamp decisions that have already been made. External critics have called Sinn Féin's organisation and structure "opaque", "hierarchial", "confusing" and "undemocratic". Former Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín claimed in 2020 that Sinn Féin TDs have "zero influence" over party policy, and that all decisions ultimately rested with the national officer board. It was also in 2020 that both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil criticised Sinn Féin's organisation, with Patrick O'Donovan of Fine Gael stating "the fact that Sinn Féin reps sign a pledge which says they will be guided by their Ard Chomhairle, a council of people not elected by the public, rather than those who elect them, is an outright affront to democracy". In 2022 the left-wing political magazine Village opined that while all major political parties in Ireland are influenced by unelected individuals, Sinn Féin is disproportionally controlled by a "backroom regime", and alleged that the Coiste Seasta, made up of unelected Northerners and former IRA members, holds the power to influence the decisions of TDs. Sinn Féin denies the allegations that its structure is