STORY: :: Counting begins in Ireland as the ruling center-right coalition looks set for re-election
:: November 30, 2024
:: Dublin, Ireland
The exit poll put the left wing Sinn Fein on 21.1%, the center-right Fine Gael of Prime Minister Simon Harris on 21.0% and like-minded coalition partner Fianna Fail on 19.5%.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fail pledged ahead of the election to seek to form a coalition without Sinn Fein, just as they did after the 2020 general election when Sinn Fein also narrowly won the popular vote.
Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army, appeared on course to lead the next government a year ago but suffered a slide in support from 30-35%, in part due to anger among its working class base at relatively liberal immigration policies.
Harris called the election on the heels of a 10.5 billion euro ($11 billion) giveaway budget that began to put money into voters' pockets during the campaign, largesse made possible by billions of euros of foreign multinational corporate tax revenues.
