E-Paper
Ireland poll: PM Leo Varadkar on the back-foot; coalition likely
Final results of Ireland poll will be known later in the week, when talks between contending parties are expected to last days or weeks, before a coalition government is formed.
Buffeted by growing ennui over rising house prices, particularly among young voters, Leo Varadkar, the Indian-origin prime minister of Ireland and his party Fine Gael were facing a stiff challenge as counting of votes began on Sunday after the February 8 election.
An exit poll commissioned by Irish national broadcasters RTÉ and TG4, The Irish Times and University College Dublin, suggested that Fine Gael was on track to secure 22.4% of first preference votes, closely followed by Sinn Féin (22.3%) and Fianna Fáil (22.2%).
An exit poll in Ireland comes with more than usual caution, because its elections are held under the proportional representation voting system, in which voters write ‘1’ opposite their first choice candidate, ‘2’ against their second, ‘3’ for their third choice, and so on.
The exit poll was released after voting was confined to the first preference votes. Final results will be known later in the week, when talks between contending parties are expected to last days or weeks, before a coalition government is formed.
However, indications from counting booths suggest a remarkable performance by Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republic Army during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It has attracted many young voters, who have little memory of the violence and terrorism.
Sinn Fein is likely to emerge as the king-maker, if not the single largest party, since it fielded only 42 candidates. There are 515 candidates in 39 constituencies and 160 members of parliament. The outgoing speaker, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, has been automatically re-elected, which means the majority mark for the 159-member parliament is 80.
Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have committed themselves not to enter into a coalition with Sinn Fein, but there are already reports of Sinn fein being contacted by rival parties.
Sinn Féin is the second largest party in Northern Ireland, but it has never posed a challenge to the two main parties in Ireland: Fine Gael and Fiana Fail. To that extent, the expected tied result is seen as a major shift in Ireland’s electoral politics.
