Key Takeaways:
– Barry Andrews, representing Fianna Fáil, is likely to secure the initial position in the Dublin constituency, having closely outperformed Regina Doherty of the Fine Gael party.
– Recent exit polls from eight European nations point towards a rise for the far-right, although the centre-right’s European People’s Party (EPP) continues to hold its ground.
– The National Assembly under French president Emmanuel Macron has been disbanded, following a surge in far-right support.
– In the Midlands-North-West constituency, the current MEPs Luke Ming Flanagan (Independent) and Maria Walsh (Fine Gael) have been well-received, though a preliminary count isn’t anticipated until later today.
– Incumbents Sean Kelly (Fine Gael) and Billy Kelleher (Fianna Fáil) look set to be re-elected in the South constituency.
– Local election count will continue into Monday with over two-thirds of the seats decided.
– The Government parties’ satisfactory showing in the local elections could put Taoiseach Simon Harris under pressure to call for an early parliamentary election.
– The Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald, has recognized the disappointing results and acknowledged that voters’ dissatisfaction with the current Government’s policies has likely led to a swing towards Independent candidates.
– Smaller factions are anticipated to maintain their seats across city and county councils, with the Social Democrats and Aontú expected to make gains.
– The counting for the role of Limerick’s first directly elected mayor – a race currently led by Independent contender, John Moran – starts today.
Must-Read:
– Analysis: Coalition parties outperform expectations whilst Sinn Féin’s downfall is the talk of the town.
– European elections: Election predictions suggest the centre ground of European politics has held its own, for the time being.
– Miriam Lord: Sinn Féin’s vote downturn sees Mary Lou McDonald wear the black armband at RDS.
Elections 2024:
– European Election
– Dublin
– MNW
– Ireland South
– EU&I Voter App
– Mayor of Limerick
– Local Elections
– Carlow
– Cavan
– Clare
– Cork City
In the County Cork, DLR, Donegal, Dublin City, Fingal, Galway City, Galway County, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, South Dublin, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow, an exhaustive count went on until slightly after 5 in the morning, as reported by Jessica Thompson from Longford. A recount is due to begin at 2 o’clock in the afternoon in Granard LEA, with the Longford LEA scheduled to continue at noon and the Ballymahon LEA recount set to commence at 9 in the morning.
This morning’s earliest news states that after a gruelling 23-hour count in County Louth, it has finally concluded. Shauna Bowers is positioned there. James Byrne of Fianna Fáil, Independent Paddy McQuillan and Fine Gael’s Ejiro O’Hare Stratton were elected on the sixteenth count in the Drogheda Urban LEA, marking the end for Louth’s count.
As for the European election results in Ireland, the count has only progressed in one constituency. However, throughout Europe, the election results seem to be generating intriguing patterns, as observed by Brussels’ correspondent Jack Power.
In France, intriguingly enough, Marine Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration National Rally dominated the elections with votes twice as those garnered by Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party, prompting the President to call for an immediate general election.
Right-wing nationalist parties experienced significant success in Italy and other regions, but their anticipated success generally failed to materialise in many places, Germany especially, where it appears that the centre-left has managed to draw level with the AfD in second place.
Miriam Lord was stationed at the RDS for Sunday’s counts, monitoring the atmosphere amongst leaders of Sinn Féin – and their competition – as the results were announced. Mary Lou McDonald admitted, “It has not been our day but we will have our day … we clearly have lessons to learn. We’ve literally been on thousands, probably tens of thousands of doorsteps.” She then questioned what more could they do after such effort and expressed her desire to listen to the voices of the people.
An optimistic atmosphere has been noticed among supporters of the government parties following promising results coming from local elections. One Fine Gael advocate was specifically ecstatic concerning the double victory in Cabra-Glasnevin.
A hearty welcome to the third day of election outcomes, being relayed live with me, Conor Pope, guiding the proceedings throughout this morning. Harry McGee will take the reins in the evening, coinciding with the unveiling of hopefully clearer European outcomes.
So where do we stand currently?
Over the weekend, local election results have swayed favourably towards the Government parties. This surprising shift has given rise to demands for a quick general election. However, hammered by subpar performance, Sinn Féin has unwittingly provided Fine Gael with a potential chance. Nevertheless, Taoiseach Simon Harris is deflecting these requests.
At daybreak today, nearly 850 out of the 949 council seats across the nation were claimed leaving some yet to be secured. This has put some pressure on the count centre staff who have had long working hours and are expected to continue their stint this morning.
Meanwhile, the process to decide the directly elected mayor of Limerick is set to commence.
Additionally, preliminary counts from Ireland South and Midlands North West should be expected while in Dublin, candidates behind the leading pair of Barry Andrews (FF) and Regina Doherty (FG) will start to understand how transfers will influence the distribution of remaining seats. Contenders include Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan, the Green Party’s Ciarán Cuffe, Labour’s Aodhán Ó Riordáin, Niall Boylan and Clare Daly.