Ireland is voting in a general election today. Polls predicted a political stalemate where no clear winner will emerge and that could jeopardise the
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Ireland is voting in a general election today. Polls predicted a political stalemate where no clear winner will emerge and that could jeopardise the Irish economic recovery.
Cast as a choice on how to distribute the profits of a strong economic recovery since accepting a 2010 sovereign bailout, the election could force the country’s two biggest parties to consider an uneasy and potentially unstable alliance.
The outcome will hinge on the extent to which Prime Minister Enda Kenny’s pledge to “keep the recovery going,” which opinion polls suggest has failed to inspire the electorate, sways undecided voters.
“It would be nice for someone to present their vision, you know a passionate vision,” said Lorna Wallis, a voter in Dublin who said she would be backing independent candidates.
Exit polls published early tomorrow will give us an idea of whether the country’s leaders have done enough to hold on to power.
The first of 157 seats should be declared in the early afternoon and the final winners potentially not decided until early next week.