Off the wire
• Lavish celebrations for Zimbabwe's Mugabe at 92  • Algeria arrests Paris attacks suspect  • Croatia imposes quota for migrants  • Initial election results shows reformists' dramatic win in Tehran  • Czech PM rejects linking migration stances with EU subsidies  • Nigeria not to devalue currency: vice president  • Sudan extends humanitarian aid to S. Sudan for 6 more months  • Clashes leave 4 Pakistani soldiers, 19 militants dead: Army  • Chinese dragon dance debuts at Bulgaria's mummers festival  • China and Britain face rare opportunity of economic and trade cooperation, minister says  
You are here: 　 Home

Ireland's opposition party says hopeful of securing up to 40 seats

Xinhua, February 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ireland's Fianna Fail (Republican Party) said on Saturday that it is now hopeful of securing up to 40 seats as the largest opposition party made a number of gains in the first count with 12 TDs (member of parliament) elected to the 32nd Dail Eireann (House of Representatives), including party leader Micheal Martin.

Vote counting is well underway. Martin, who got 11,346 votes, attributed his party's success to staying grounded.

"I think there were a lot of things worked in our favor. We had faith going way back. We were consistent and the local elections gave us a great platform. Our message resonated with people," he said.

"I think we kept our feet on the ground; we connected with communities and that will be the strongest challenge -- to stay connected with people and their realities on the ground," he added.

Up to now, 32 out of 158 seats were taken, with Fianna Fail securing 12, Fine Gael (United Ireland Party) 7, Sinn Fein ("We Ourselves") 4, independents and small parties 9.

Political analysts predict the current Fine Gael-Labor coalition government is set to lose a majority in parliament.

Fine Gael strategist Mark Mortell admitted the party could win "less than 50 seats" and that there is a theoretical possibility that Fianna Fail will win most seats than Fine Gael. He said he was hopeful that Fine Gael would do "very well" on second preferences but said that the prospects of a fresh election are "very, very high."

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

In this year's election, 552 candidates will run for the 157-member Dail Eireann, 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.

On Feb. 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. Endit