Ireland's two large centre-right parties looked set to be returned to power after an election on Friday, but will likely need at least one smaller partner to secure a majority, raising questions over the stability of the next government.

The outgoing government was led by the two parties that have dominated Irish politics for the past century: Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. They have similar policies, but are longtime rivals with origins on opposing sides of Ireland’s 1920s civil war. After the 2020 election ended in a virtual dead heat, they formed a coalition.

Sinn Féin, the former political arm of the IRA, is hoping Ireland's 2024 election will bring it to power for the first time ever.

The Republic of Ireland elects its government using a system of proportional representation known as the single transferable vote. Voters will have the opportunity to 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.

Polls open in election to choose Ireland's next government after A campaign dominated by housing and immigration

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.

Ireland is voting in a parliamentary election that will determine the country's next government; voters are selecting more than 170 lawmakers to sit in the Dail.