Ireland's Political Landscape: Sinn Fein's Narrow Lead

Sinn Fein, Ireland's main opposition party, is projected to win the most votes in the general election. Despite this, the centre-right parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, plan to form a coalition government without Sinn Fein, similar to the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Sinn Fein, Ireland's main opposition party, is set to narrowly clinch the most votes in the general election, according to an exit poll. However, it appears that its two centre-right rivals may still have sufficient seats to form a government without Sinn Fein.

The exit poll results indicated that the left-wing Sinn Fein stands at 21.1%, while the centre-right Fine Gael, led by Prime Minister Simon Harris, is at 21.0%. Fianna Fail, their coalition partner sharing similar ideologies, holds 19.5% of the vote.

Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have vowed to form a coalition government without Sinn Fein, as they did following the 2020 general election where Sinn Fein also won the popular vote narrowly.

(With inputs from agencies.)