The EU country Ireland appears to be heading towards continued centre-right governance. The conservative Fine Gael and the right-liberal Fianna Fáil, which currently govern in coalition, have together secured 73 of the 88 seats in the lower house required to lead the country.
The main challenger, the left-nationalist Sinn Féin, can count on 34 seats after Friday's election. There are a total of 174 mandates.
In parallel with the completion of the complex vote count – in Ireland, voters rank candidates in first, second, and third choices – the parties are expected to start sounding out potential partners. Possible cooperation partners for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are the centre-left parties Labour and Social Democrats.
A partnership with Sinn Féin has been ruled out.
