The counting of votes begins on Saturday morning in Ireland the day after the legislative elections, after which the left nationalist party Sinn Fein would arrive just ahead of the centrist parties of the outgoing coalition, according to an exit poll.
Ballot counting operations begin at 09:00 GMT across the country but it will probably be necessary to wait several days to have the final results due to a complex voting system.
The composition of the Dail, the lower house of the Irish Parliament, where 174 deputies will sit, will only be known after the total count.
According to an exit poll published Friday evening, Mary Lou McDonald’s left-wing nationalist Sinn Fein party would come first (21.1%) ahead of Prime Minister Simon Harris’s party, Fine Gael (21%), and Fianna Fail (19.5%).
But for several analysts, these last two parties could remain in power by forming a new coalition.
Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have succeeded each other in government since Ireland’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1921.
After the last elections, in 2020, won by number of votes by Sinn Fein, the two centrist parties formed a government coalition with the Greens.
Throughout the campaign, dominated by the housing crisis, the cost of living and immigration, they ruled out a coalition with Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the IRA paramilitary group that fought the British in Ireland of the North for decades until the 1998 peace agreement.
– Negotiations –
Prime Minister Simon Harris said on Friday morning that he expected a “fascinating few days” due to the lengthy vote counting process.
“We have long days ahead of us. Those of us who are interested in politics will enjoy it,” he added.
Ireland uses a system of proportional representation known as the single transferable vote.
Voters rank the candidates in their district in order of preference, with their favorite marked number one. They can vote for as many candidates as they want. Candidates must reach a certain number of votes to be elected.
The counting of ballots is done in several rounds.
Next will come the negotiations to form a government which could still take time.
In 2020, Micheal Martin, the leader of Fianna Fail, became Prime Minister more than four months after the election.
In 2016, it took more than two months for a government to be formed.
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