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Irish parliament fails to elect PM again since February's poll

Xinhua, April 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Dail Eireann, lower house of Irish parliament, on Wednesday failed to elect a Taoiseach (prime minister) for the second time since the Feb. 26 general election.

In the Dail Eireann vote for Taoiseach, Fine Gael (United Ireland Party) leader Enda Kenny, Fianna Fail (Republican Party) leader Micheal Martin and Ruth Coppinger from the Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit (AAA-PBP) were all nominated by their respective parties for the position of Taoiseach.

Kenny's nomination was defeated by 80 votes to 51, Martin by 95 to 43 and Coppinger had 108 votes against with 10 in favor. Coppinger is the first Irish woman ever to be nominated for Taoiseach.

Following the votes, Kenny, also caretaker Taoiseach, held talks with Martin about forming a government. But so far no results have been seen.

Earlier, Kenny pledged to be flexible and generous in talks, saying that he hoped the talks will "lead us to a conclusion". Kenny also said he and his government will continue to carry out their duties in the meantime.

On March 10, the Dail Eireann failed to elect a Taoiseach during its first meeting after the general election. Kenny received 57 votes in favor and 94 against that day.

Fine Gael, which has 50 seats in the Dail Eireann, is still the largest party in Ireland in terms of members of parliament. Fianna Fail, having 44 seats, is the second largest party in parliament. AAA-PBP has 6 seats in parliament. Enditem