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Irish general election underway, hung parliament predicted

Xinhua, February 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Irish went to the polls on Friday in an general election described as one of the most unpredictable in recent times.

Voting is getting underway in 40 constituencies across the country. The polling stations are open from 7 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) to 10 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Friday. According to official statistics, the number of electors now stands at over 3.2 million.

The first votes in the general election were cast on islands off the coasts of counties Donegal, Galway and Mayo on Thursday. Ballots have already been cast by, among others, people in nursing homes, soldiers based overseas and people entitled to postal votes.

The counting of votes will begin on Saturday, with the first counts expected late Saturday afternoon.

Major parties taking part in the election are Fine Gael (United Ireland Party), Labor Party, Fianna Fail (Republican Party) and Sinn Fein.

Fine Gael is the largest party in Ireland in terms of members of the parliament. The party is the senior partner governing in a coalition with the Labor Party, with the Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny serving as Taoiseach (prime minister). Kenny has led the party since 2002.

In this year's election, 552 candidates will run for the 157-member Dail Eireann (House of Representatives), the lower house of the Irish parliament. Outgoing Dail Eireann Speaker Sean Barrett is elected automatically, bringing the total number of TDs (deputies) to 158, down eight from the last Dail Eireann.

Irish Prime Minister and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the outgoing coalition government had "brought our country in the right direction". Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and and Labor Party leader Joan Burton asked people to "think twice" before they voted. She asked for a vote for Labor "for more jobs, a better education system, an improved health system".

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said Ireland needed a "government that works and listens to people". Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said the election was a "battle of ideas going on between the golden circles and the people", between austerity and equality. He called on voters to "elect a progressive government".

According to the final Red C poll before election day, Fine Gael will retain the largest party status by once again securing 30 percent of the first preference vote. However, with Labor falling back slightly to end up with just 7 percent of the first preference vote in this final poll, the chances of the combined share being enough between the two parties to secure a majority is now very slim.

Instead, Fianna Fail will secure 20 percent of the first preference vote. Sinn Fein will end up securing 15 percent of the first preference vote. Independent candidates and other smaller parties will retain a very large share of the vote at 28 percent overall.

Political analysts say a hung parliament is widely predicted because voters increasingly turns away from mainstream parties to smaller factions and independents.

On February 3, Irish President Michael D Higgins signed a proclamation to dissolve the 31th Dail Eireann at the request of Prime Minister Kenny and the incoming Dail Eireann will sit on March 10. Enditem