Voting opens in Irish general election after three-week campaign

Polling stations have opened across Ireland this morning after a three-week election campaign.

Fine Gael’s Simon Harris, Fianna Fail’s Micheal Martin and Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald are all battling it out to become Ireland’s next taoiseach – though no party has put forward enough candidates for a majority, meaning a coalition will be inevitable.

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, both centre-right parties, have said they will not enter a coalition with the left-wing Sinn Fein.

Sinn Fein has never been in government, despite winning the highest number of votes in 2020.

How Ireland’s election voting system works

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael – traditional rivals stemming from the aftermath of Ireland’s civil war – have ruled together with the Green Party since 2020.

There are 174 seats across 43 constituencies in this year’s election, with more than 680 candidates.

In addition to the Green Party, there are several other smaller parties in contention for seats, as well as a host of independents across the ideological spectrum.

Vote counting will not start until Saturday morning with an exit poll due shortly after voting ends at 10pm on Friday.

The final results may take several days to emerge due to Ireland’s single transferable vote system.

This means voters rank their choices rather than choosing one candidate. Prospective politicians must then reach a quota, after rounds of vote counting.

The economy, housing and immigration have been the key issues of the campaign.