Counting is underway in Ireland's election as three parties battle for top place
CTV
A marathon vote-counting exercise was underway Saturday in Ireland’s national election after an exit poll suggested that the contest is a close-fought race.
A marathon vote-counting exercise was underway Saturday in Ireland’s national election after an exit poll suggested that the contest is a close-fought race among the country’s three largest political parties.
Election officials opened ballot boxes at count centers across the country, kicking off what could be several days of tallying the results. If the exit poll is borne out, that could be followed by days or weeks of negotiations to form a coalition government.
The exit poll suggested voters’ support is split widely among the three big parties — Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein — as well as several smaller parties and an assortment of independents ranging from the left to the far right.
The poll said that center-right party Fine Gael was the first choice of 21 per cent of voters, and another center-right party, Fianna Fail, of 19.5 per cent. The two parties governed in coalition before the election. Left-of-center opposition party Sinn Fein was at 21.1 per cent in the poll.
Pollster Ipsos B&A asked 5,018 voters across the country how they had cast their ballots. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 percentage points.
The figures only give an indication and don’t reveal which parties will form the next government. Ireland uses a complex system of proportional representation in which each of the country’s 43 constituencies elects several lawmakers and voters rank candidates in order of preference. As a result, it can take some time for full results to be known.
Fianna Fail politician Michael McGrath, a former finance minister and now a European Union official, said that “a number of different parties and groups will have to be involved” in forming a government.
