Sinn Féin wins highest percentage of first preference votes in Ireland’s election
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Irish nationalists Sinn Fein demanded on Sunday to be part of the next Irish government after the left-wing party secured the most votes in an election that leader Mary Lou McDonald described as a ballot-box “revolution”.
Sinn Fein wants to exclude Ireland’s major political parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, from a new coalition government, McDonald has said.
The party, formerly the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), could poll more votes than either of its rivals, who have dominated Irish politics for 90 years.
Sinn Fein, which has recast itself as the main left-wing party, secured 24.5% of first-preference votes, almost doubling its share from the last election in 2016.
That put it ahead of the center-right Fianna Fail on 22.2% and the Fine Gael party of Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at 20.9% in an election analysts described as a seismic shift away from Ireland’s century-old, center-right duopoly.
That would mean it is outperforming even Saturday night’s extraordinary exit poll that put all three parties on 22%, sending shockwaves through Irish politics.
Sinn Fein has already opened talks with smaller, like-minded, parties such as the Greens and People Before Profit as well as independents.
The party fielded 42 candidates across the 39 constituencies, meaning it could never reach the 80 seats needed for a majority in the Dail parliament, but it can claim it has arrived as a political force in the south of the country.
Taking power with either Fine Gael and Fianna Fail appears unlikely as both have vowed never to go into government with Sinn Fein, while Fianna Fail has ruled out a “grand coalition” with Fine Gael.
