Vote counting is currently underway in Ireland following a closely contested national election, as indicated by an exit poll that suggests a tight race among the country's three major political parties. Ballot boxes were opened at 9 a.m. at count centers nationwide, marking the beginning of a potentially lengthy process of tallying the results. If the exit poll findings hold true, this could be followed by days or even weeks of negotiations to form a coalition government.
The exit poll revealed that voter support is divided among the three prominent parties - Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, and Sinn Fein - along with various smaller parties and independent candidates spanning the political spectrum. Fine Gael garnered 21% of the vote, Fianna Fail secured 19.5%, and Sinn Fein stood at 21.1% according to the poll conducted by Ipsos B&A among 5,018 voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 percentage points.
