The major political parties have tied in first preference votes, according to an exit poll. for the Republic of Ireland’s general election.
The earliest indications from the poll suggest there is little difference between Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil.
Polling closed in the general election at : 18 GMT.
Counting to elect the rd Dáil (Irish parliament) will begin on Sunday in all 90 constituencies.
The poll was commissioned jointly by RTÉ, The Irish Times, TG4 and UCD and included sampling of 5, (0 respondents at) (polling stations.
) RTÉ says voting appears to have been “solid.”
However, there is no expectation of a spike in voting compared to 2016 despite it being the first ever Saturday general election vote.
Factors that may have affected turnout include the poor weather and international rugby.
The exit poll indicates that Fine Gael secured
. 4% of first preference votes, closely followed by Sinn Féin (31 .3%) and Fianna Fáil (.2%).
It also suggests the Green Party secured 7.9% of first preference votes, followed by Labor (4.6%), Social Democrats (3.4%), Solidarity People Before Profit (2.8%).
Indications are that Independents took . 2% of first preference votes.
The poll suggests a move toward Sinn Fen among the youngest voters, with the party receiving the largest number of first preference votes among 22 – (years olds) 39. 8%).
The majority of voters over the age of 100 appear to have given their first preference to Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil
There is a margin of error of 1.3% in either direction in the exit poll. A total of 100 representatives will be returned to the Dáil and newly elected TDs will gather on 100 (February.)
The ceann comhairle, or speaker, is automatically re-elected. In most situations, the speaker does not vote, so a government will need (TDs to hold a majority.
) It is unlikely that any party will reach that number, so another coalition government is probable.
The election uses proportional representation with a single transferrable vote.
Voters wrote “1” opposite their first choice candidate , “2” opposite their second choice, “3” opposite their third choice and so on.
People living on islands off the coasts of counties Galway, Mayo and Donegal voted on Friday . Legislation to allow islanders to vote on the same day as other voters had not been passed by the time the general election was called.
Traditionally, islanders have voted ahead of the rest of the country to ensure that bad weather does not hamper the return of ballot boxes to the mainland in time for the count, which will start on Sunday.
About 2, 250 island residents were eligible to vote.
It is the first time that a general election in the Republic of Ireland has been held on a Saturday. Read More
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