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AFTER A BRIEF three weeks of campaigning, the talking is over and the nation has spoken at the ballot box.
However, it will be some time before we know the results of the 2024 general election.
Unlike last time out in 2020, there are four extra constituencies and 14 additional Dáil seats up for grabs.
It means close to 700 candidates have been vying for votes across 43 constituencies to fill the 174 seats in what will be the largest ever Dáil Éireann.
We could be facing a slightly longer count than last time as a result.
The exit poll released late last night gives an indication of what the next Dáil will look like, but the only poll that matters is the one that voters took part in yesterday.
Here’s what we can expect today and over the weekend.
Around the country, the ballot boxes will be opened at 9am and the counting will get underway.
In 2020, just over 2.2 million votes were cast, a turnout rate of close to 63%.
Voters went to the polls on Saturday, 8 February in 2020 and counting got underway at 9am on Sunday, 9 February.
The counting in 2020 lasted right up until midnight on Monday, 10 February, when Cavan-Monaghan was the last constituency to fill their seats at 11.59pm.
Ireland uses the PR-STV system, in which voters indicate who they would like to see elected in order of preference.
When the counting starts, staff will tally the first preference votes for each candidate, which can take some time.
However, at around 10am, initial tallies from will come out across the country which will give an indication on the state of play across the 43 constituencies.
Sinn Féin enjoyed a surged across the country in the 2020 election and sure enough, it was clear from early tallies shortly before 10am last time out that the party was on course for a good day.
Meanwhile, tallies from Cork South Central at around 11am had Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire out-polling both Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Fine Gael’s Simon Coveney, a lead Ó Laoghaire held on to.
From around 1pm, the tallies begin to take real shape and we can begin to reasonably predict who will win, or lose, a seat.
For example, in 2020, Sinn Féin’s Aengus O Snodaigh entered the RDS in Dublin before 1pm and was greeted by cheers as it was clear he would take a seat – he went on to be elected on the first count.
On the other end of the scale, Fine Gael’s Seán Kyne, who was then the government’s chief whip, became aware he was in trouble of losing his seat at around 1.30pm – it was 30 hours later that it became official that he would not be retaining his seat in Galway West.
Govt chief whip @SeanKyneTD is a worried man. With 8.2% of the vote, after 80% of boxes tallied in #GalwayWest #ge2020 and FG colleague @1Hildegarde ahead 9.6%, he’s in danger of losing seat @CTribune pic.twitter.com/qD9B5sM61s
— Dara Bradley (@Barnacles09) February 9, 2020
The tallies will give us a good indication of how the official first counts will go.
In 2011, Dublin West was the first constituency to return a first count at 2.47pm.
In 2016, it was Galway East at 2.53pm but in 2020 we had to wait until 4.22pm until the first count, when Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire was elected in Cork South Central.
Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire tops the poll in Cork South Central with 14057 #GE2020 pic.twitter.com/ZjF9fugcAV
— RTÉ Cork South-Central (@RTEcorkSTHCENT) February 9, 2020
The results then came rolling in thick and fast over the next hour and a half, and by 6pm nine further candidates were elected.
Come 8pm, 27 candidates had been elected to Dáil Éireann.
However, while some constituencies had already completed their second count by 8pm, others had yet to complete their first, such as Dublin Bay North, where the first count came in at around 8.05pm.
It took even longer in other constituencies, with Longford-Westmeath, Kerry, Donegal and Cavan-Monaghan still not registering their first count as the clock struck 9pm.
And while Galway East was able to elect all its TDs by 9.40pm last time out, it was 10.30pm before Cavan-Monaghan was able to return a first count, making it the last constituency in the country to do so.
It now becomes a question of stamina – will count staff persevere through the night or call it a day?
Count centres make a decision on a case-by-case basis when to stop counting for the night, usually around midnight.
But it can be earlier for others.
Cavan-Monaghan returned its first count at 10.30pm, electing Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy and Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys, and decided to call it a night there and then.
Staff in the RDS did similar shortly after.
However, come 11pm, three constituencies – Clare, Galway West and Kildare North had yet to elect a TD.
Galway West persevered into the small hours with its count, and in the Roscommon-Galway count centre, hardy staff kept at it until the early hours despite the lights going out.
Talk about tension! Power outage just as the final transfers are being counted! #GE2020 pic.twitter.com/gMDH7bjrWH
— RTÉ Roscommon-Galway (@RTErosGalway) February 10, 2020
A first TD wasn’t elected in Galway West until 11am the following day, despite the best efforts of staff who worked into the wee hours.
Come the morning after in 2020, 13 of the then 39 constituencies had finished counting, with 26 still to go.
It’s uncertain if the additional four constituencies and extra Dáil seats up for grabs will add to count times.
And if 2020 is anything to go by, we could be looking at two full days of counting before we learn the complete makeup of the next Dáil.
In 2020, counting started at 9am on 9 February, and it was at just before midnight, at 11.59pm on 10 February, that Cavan-Monaghan delivered the final results in the country, when Fianna Fáil’s Brendan Smith and Niamh Smyth were elected.
Cavan-Monaghan was the last constituency to return a first count and also the last to deliver all their TDs.
So while the outlook could be reasonably clear come Saturday night, we could be waiting until the small hours of Monday before the full results are known.
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What a lot of people fail to understand is that FFFG have over the last few elections circumvented the entire purpose of the electoral process, and the abilty of the electorate to vote for the government they want.
Because FF and FG now operate as a single party government, existing in a coalition of convenience to keep everyone else out of government, by joining forces, despite the objections of grassroots members in each party.
They could in fact amalgamate into a single party, that’s entire motivation is to keep Sinn Fein out of government.
It seems that this new reality has left many voters disillusioned to the extent that they aren’t even bothering to vote.
@Dvsespaña: by keeping two parties they can blame the other for failing to keep policy promises
@Dave G Doe: If instead of acting like a child in a school yard slinging insults at people that choose to vote for any party including Sinn Fein, you objectively looked at the facts you might be able to grasp the significance.
You spewing drivel about toxic shinners with the careless abandon of someone that hasn’t a clue about the history or the past actions of both Fine Fail and Fine Gael and their direct historic links to killings, bombings, etc. The timeframe might be a little longer, but the shoe still fits.
Why do you think they both constantly hark back to Sinn Fein and their IRA connections at every opportunity? It’s just a distraction from their own origins lest anyone look to closely.
The parties in question in relation to my previous comment are irrelevant, if the outcomes of the current, or any future elections are that,
1. Parties A or B, form a majority government with quasi coalition support for the other.
.
Or
2. Parties A+B form a coalition.
.
Or
3.Parties A+B form a coalition with the Greens or a few independents.
Means there is no possible outcome in which parties A+B don’t retain/cling to power, meaning that calling this situation a democracy, really stretches the definition to breaking point, it is in all practical terms a two party dictatorship, the fact that its not a jack booted overtly repressive dictatorship doesn’t change that in the slightest.
@Dvsespaña: the discourse on social media for the last few weeks indicated that people were very pro change and all revved up to vote. But it seems that didn’t happen. That is peoples choice and that is democracy.
@Dave G Doe:Fat lady ain’t SF
@Dvsespaña: I don’t disagree with what you say,but I think for a lot of people,they don’t have any confidence in the other parties,it’s a sad state of affairs all right,,a case of better the devil you know,it’s not so much democracy is the problem but the shockingly poor alternative government available.
@Dvsespaña: don’t feed the troll
@Dvsespaña: when do they hand out the lube?
It’s a disaster if same pilots wins, mayday call for past 100 years is enough!
Irish needs new plane or change the plan.
If the turnout is really as low as suggested….sure it won’t take long
@Frank Mc Carthy: but the fracturing of the vote with so many candidates on the ballot paper, means it probably will.
@Frank Mc Carthy: probably won’t know until after Christmas at this rate. The vote system and transfer counting takes weeks.
That’s a lovely photo of Mary Lou celebrating her parties first decrease in vote share since 1989 – if the exit polls prove vaguely accurate…
@honey badger: Straw clutcing at it’s best
@honey badger: im not sure about this exit poll…seems a bit flaky, we’ll see tomorrow
@MHM: We will, indeed. This is always the best bit.
@honey badger: You should mind your manners.
Listen, I’m gay. I waited years to be accepted by society. I can wait a couple of days for the FFG result.
@Stephen: I am straight and never confused. I’m sorry I can’t offer you more than this, and the outgoing government won’t help you either. I do hope you find comfort in your bubble, but rest assured we will all pray for your forgiveness.
@Paul Linehan: You definitely puff from the rough my friend xx
@Paul Linehan: you’re definitely confused if you’re the type of person to be praying to a fictional being
@Stephen: Nobody cares who you are attracted to. You are insignificant.
The show is almost over but I don’t think the obese lady will be singing.
@Dave G Doe: If it wasn’t so sad for the country it’d be funny. FFG fan boys celebrating abject failure and stagnation, sounds about right. For the record no fan of ML.
@Daniel Gilroy: too many parties on the left, they need to amalgamate into one viable entity if they want to ever have a chance. The FFG share of the vote is still going down, election by election. They have 40% between them, it used to be almost 40% each, not that long ago. I’m not sure if it’s verified, but on telly last night they seemed to think young people didn’t vote in big numbers. The anti establishment vote seems to have shifted from SF to Independents.
We are basically living in a FFG control of media dictatorship
NATO will be happy with results
Ireland has effectively become a one party state. Democracy has been completely distorted!
Yabbadabadoo!
Michael Martin and Simon Harris as rotating Taoiseach for the next 5 years with them both changing leader a year from next election and the newspapers declaring a new energy.
@Peter McGlynn: why would people tolerate this ? It’s undemocratic
@S Suilleabhain: An election is the essence of democracy. Jesus the brain level on hear is scary
@Sean Hayes: Fine gael are anti disability and the vulnerable & have been in power since 2011, seeing their vote share significantly drop and housing, infrastructure buckle – emigration back up ! Jesus the tolerance, understanding level on here is scary
@S Suilleabhain: It’s still democracy lad!
@Sean Hayes: no it isn’t. It’s two cheeks of the same a*** wrecking th country and they’ve had since 2011 to do something different & given free reign to demolish the country hand it over to vulture funds
Well at least we will be rid of conehead. Absolute bluffer that cost this country huge financial losses and more.
Good to see the Greens about to wiped out.
@Dan Murphy: very sad to see a cohort of cork will back Corks Taoiseach only by wearing the electorate down ..nearly 40 years in power and absolutely nothing productive other than the smoking ban to show for it
have your say