Vote counting in Ireland’s general election got under way yesterday with an exit poll indicating a tight finish between the three main parties.
After voting concluded late on Friday, an exit poll indicated that pro-Irish unity party Sinn Fein were leading with 21.1 percent of the vote, but neck and neck on 21.0 percent was the center-right Fine Gael whose leader is the outgoing prime minister Simon Harris.
Fine Gael’s center-right partner in the outgoing coalition — Fianna Fail, led by deputy prime minister Micheal Martin — were slightly further back in third with 19.5 percent.
Photo: AP
Counting began yesterday with partial results expected throughout the day.
However, a final result might not be clear for days as EU member Ireland’s proportional representation system sees votes of eliminated candidates redistributed during multiple rounds of counting.
“The exit poll makes it most likely that Fine Gael and Fianna Fail government will continue,” said Eoin O’Malley, a political scientist at Dublin City University.
The poll showed there is “no enthusiasm for the government, despite a buoyant economy, but neither is there any enthusiasm for the opposition,” he added.
During the last parliamentary term, the role of prime minister rotated between the Fianna Fail and Fine Gael leaders.
The smaller Green Party made up the governing coalition.
The three-week campaign, launched after Harris called a snap election on Nov. 8, was marked by rancor over housing and cost-of-living crises, public spending and immigration.
Harris, who became Ireland’s youngest-ever taoiseach, or prime minister, when he took over in April, held a solid lead entering the campaign.
However, the party lost ground, in particular after Harris was seen in a viral clip appearing rude and dismissive to a care worker on the campaign trail.
Both center-right parties cited their pro-business and pro-EU credentials during the campaign, and said returning them to power would ensure stability, particularly with turmoil abroad and the risk of external shocks.
Ireland’s economy depends on foreign direct investment and lavish corporate tax returns from mainly US tech and pharma giants. However, threats from US president-elect Donald Trump to slap tariffs on imports and repatriate corporate tax of US firms from countries such as Ireland have caused concern for the country’s economic model.
At the last general election in 2020, Sinn Fein — the former political wing of the paramilitary Irish Republican Army — won the popular vote, but could not find willing coalition partners.
That led to weeks of horse-trading, ending up with Fine Gael, which has been in power since 2011, agreeing a deal with Fianna Fail.
Sinn Fein, led by Mary Lou McDonald campaigning to become Ireland’s first female taoiseach, saw a dip in support in the past year because of its progressive stance on social issues and migration policy, as immigration became a key election issue.
However, it rallied on the back of a campaign heavily focused on housing policy and said it is the only alternative to Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, which have swapped power since the signing of the Anglo-Irish treaty in 1921, which brought an end to the Irish War of Independence and established the independent Irish Free State, the precursor to the Republic of Ireland, established in 1949.
McDonald, 55, called Friday “a historic day where we can elect a new government for change.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
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