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 Sinn Fein looked on course to win the most votes at a general election by the narrowest of margins on Friday, but its two main centre-right rivals will likely have enough seats to govern again without it,

The protracted process of sorting and counting votes in Ireland’s General Election has begun, after an exit poll put the three main parties virtually neck and neck. Sinn Fein held 21.1% of first-preference votes,

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 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 polls are set to open for the Irish general election. Polling stations will be open between 07:00 and 22:00 local time on Friday to allow voters to choose representatives to serve as Teachtaí Dála (TDs) in the Dáil, the lower house of the Oireachtas (Ireland's parliament).

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,

The exit poll in Ireland's general election is suggesting a virtual tie between the three biggest parties. The main opposition party Sinn Féin is predicted to narrowly win the popular vote. However, government parties Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will likely have enough seats to form a coalition with at least one other party.

An exit poll in the Republic of Ireland Ireland suggests that Sinn Féin has 21.1% of first preference votes with Fine Gael having 21%, making the result of the general election too close to call. The poll indicates Fianna Fáil has 19.

Sinn Féin leads in the Irish General Election exit poll with 21.1% of first-preference votes, followed closely by Fine Gael at 21% and Fianna Fáil at 19.5%.