Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, right, meets Barney Hynes and his grandson Wyatt McLoughlin in Arklow, Ireland, on the last day of campaigning on the eve of the General Election, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Polls open in close-run election to choose Ireland’s new government

DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland is voting Friday in a parliamentary election that will decide the next government — and will show whether Ireland bucks the global trend of incumbents being ousted by disgruntled voters after years of pandemic, international instability and a cost-of-living pressures.

Polls opened at 7 a.m.. (0700GMT), and Ireland’s 3.8 million voters are selecting 174 lawmakers to sit in the Dail, the lower house of parliament.

Analysts say a coalition of the outgoing center-right ruling parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fail is the most likely outcome, but there are many variables.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, center, walks with candidates Eoin O Broin, left, Matt Carthy, right, and supporters arrive at Government Buildings, on the last day of campaigning on the eve of the General Election, in Dublin, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)
Irish Prime Minister and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris leaves Marconi House after speaking on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny show, on the last day of campaigning on the eve of the General Election, in Dublin, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)
Green leader Roderic O’Gorman, center, speaks to the media during a press conference at the Irish Architectural Archive, on the last day of campaigning on the eve of the General Election, in Dublin, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, center, speaks to the media outside Government Buildings, on the last day of campaigning on the eve of the General Election, in Dublin, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)
Irish Prime Minister and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris, center, speaks on the phone during a walkabout on the last day of campaigning, on the eve of the General Election, in Dublin, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

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