Sinn Fein surges as most popular party in Irish election

Nationalist party Sinn Fein won the popular vote in Ireland's general election, ballot counts revealed on Sunday, with the one-time political wing of the IRA disrupting a duopoly of centre-right parties which have historically controlled the Republic.

After all 39 constituencies across Ireland were tallied, Sinn Fein received 24.5 per cent of the first preference vote, outstripping the opposition Fianna Fail party on 22.2 per cent and incumbent prime minister Leo Varadkar's governing Fine Gael party on 20.9 per cent.

Ireland operates on a single transferable vote system and Sinn Fein ran a slate of just 42 candidates for the 159 seats contested, meaning its strong performance may not result in it becoming the biggest party in Ireland's next parliament.

But the left-wing party started celebrating its surge after campaigning on issues of healthcare and housing.

"It's official (Sinn Fein) won the election -- highest popular vote," tweeted leader Mary Lou McDonald.

Counting is expected to continue on Monday, with analysts saying it could take two to three days before full results are known.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have traditionally taken turns in power in the Republic.

"It seems that we have now a three party system," said Varadkar at the counting centre for his Dublin West constituency. "That is going to make forming a government quite difficult."
The 50-year-old said she ideally wanted "a government with no Fianna Fail or no Fine Gael in it" and had made contact with smaller parties, but added: "I will talk to and listen to everybody."
"This is not just a change election -- it has changed Irish elections themselves for the foreseeable future," wrote columnist Fintan O'Toole in The Irish Times newspaper. "For a huge chunk of voters, change is being seen as something that comes from outside the system."