Voters prepare to go to the polls

Polls are expected to open for the Irish general election.

Polling stations will be open from 07:00 to 22:00 local time on Friday to allow voters to choose a representative as Teachtaí Dála (TD) in the Dáil, the lower house of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament).

The next Dáil, which will be the 34th, will have 174 TDs, up from 160 in 2020.

Friday’s vote comes after a three-week election campaign.

Voters will elect 173 TDs, one seat in the Dáil will go to the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker).

88 TDs is the number needed for an overall majority.

The new TDs will represent 43 constituencies across the Republic of Ireland.

More than 3.4 million people are registered to vote in the Republic of Ireland.

To vote in the election, voters must be over 18 years of age, be an Irish or British citizen, reside in Ireland and be on the Irish Electoral Register.

Election candidates include representatives of the three main parties – the outgoing coalition partners Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, and the leading opposition party in the outgoing Dáíl, Sinn Féin.

These parties are joined by many smaller parties and a significant number of independent candidates.

Vote counting began Saturday morning and is expected to continue into the weekend and possibly into next week.

The first sitting of the 34th Dáil is scheduled for Wednesday 18 December at 10:30.

A government will be formally formed when the Dáil passes a vote to appoint a new taoiseach (Ireland’s prime minister).