Counting has begun in the Irish general election, as exit polls suggest a close contest between the three major parties.

Ireland's opposition party Sinn Féin looked on course to narrowly win the popular vote in the country's general election on Friday, an exit poll suggested, but its two main political rivals— the incumbent coalition parties of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil— will likely have enough support to retain power.

Ireland's two large centre-right parties looked on course to be returned to power after an election on Friday, but they will likely need at least one junior partner to reach a majority, raising questions about the stability of the next government.

Counting has begun in the Irish general election, as exit polls suggest a close contest between the three major parties

The Irish General Election 2024 will be held this Friday, November 29 - here, an overview of the major political parties running candidates. What parties are running in the Irish General Election 2024?

Vote counting is underway in Ireland’s national election. An exit poll suggests the contest is a close-fought race among the country’s three largest political parties.

The Republic of Ireland elects its government using a system of proportional representation known as the single transferable vote. Voters rank candidates in their constituency in order of preference, marking their favourite with a number one, a number two beside their next choice and so on.

The exit poll put the left wing Sinn Fein on 21.1%, the centre-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,

Counting is to get under way later on Saturday morning in the Irish general election, as exit polls suggest a close contest between the three major parties. Figures from Friday's exit poll show Sinn Féin slightly ahead of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in first preference votes.

Ireland's main opposition party Sinn Fein looked on course to narrowly win the most votes at a general election on Friday, but its two main centre-right rivals will likely have enough seats to govern again without it,