What to look out for in Ireland's general election

Counting is nether mode successful Ireland's wide election.

But dissimilar the UK, it volition instrumentality much than a fewer hours for each 174 seats to beryllium filled - and overmuch longer for a authorities to beryllium formed.

Here's 3 things you should look retired for arsenic the votes are being counted.

1. The main parties' contention to 88

That's the fig needed for a bulk successful Ireland's little location of parliament, the Dail.

But the 3 largest parties - Fianna Fail (FF), Fine Gael (FG) and Sinn Finn (SF) - person not fielded capable candidates to scope this, truthful they volition beryllium connected the hunt for conjugation partners.

In the past election, FF won 38 seats, SF picked up 37 and FG won 35 with overmuch the aforesaid enactment that Friday's exit canvass suggests.

The centre-right Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, who ruled successful the past authorities with the Green Party, person vowed not to participate a conjugation with the left-wing Sinn Fein.

So if the exit canvass intimately mirrors the last result, a FF-FG conjugation looks apt - on with different enactment oregon autarkic candidates.

Explainer: How Ireland's predetermination voting strategy works

But if Sinn Fein translates their enactment into importantly much seats than they picked up past time, it would enactment the enactment successful a stronger negotiating presumption - and Mary Lou McDonald could inactive person an extracurricular accidental of becoming Ireland's archetypal pistillate taoiseach.

2. How the smaller parties fare

Ireland's electoral strategy - proportional practice by azygous transferable ballot - means smaller parties prime up much seats than their UK counterparts.

On the left, determination is Labour, the Social Democrats, the Greens - each connected betwixt 4% and 6% successful the exit canvass - arsenic good arsenic the People Before Profit-Solidarity alliance.

On the right, determination is SF breakaway enactment Aontu and respective recently formed far-right parties, the largest of which is Independent Ireland.

Read more: How Trump looms implicit Ireland's election

At slightest 1 of these groups is apt to signifier a authorities with FF and FG - depending connected however galore seats they prime up.

3. How the autarkic candidates perform

A quirk of Ireland's electoral strategy is the precocious fig of autarkic candidates.

The exit canvass enactment independents astatine 14.6% - meaning they are apt to triumph a important fig of seats. In 2020, autarkic candidates picked up 19 seats with 12.2% of the vote.

It's apt that a three-party conjugation volition inactive autumn abbreviated of reaching the 88-seat threshold for a majority, truthful enactment from independents volition go important.

In 2016, 9 independents were members of the Fine Gael-led number government, with 3 holding ministerial posts.

The independents travel from crossed the ideological spectrum and often absorption connected hyper-local issues.