Counting has begun in the Irish general election, as exit polls suggest a close contest between the three major parties.

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

The Irish General Election 2024 will be held this Friday, November 29 - here, an overview of the major political parties running candidates. What parties are running in the Irish General Election 2024?

Counting has begun in the Irish general election, as exit polls suggest a close contest between the three major parties

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.

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

The polls are set to open for the Irish general election. Polling stations will be open between 07:00 and 22:00 local time on Friday to allow voters to choose representatives to serve as Teachtaí Dála (TDs) in the Dáil, the lower house of the Oireachtas (Ireland's parliament).

Ireland's main opposition party Sinn Fein looked on course to narrowly win the most votes at a general election on Friday, but its two main centre-right rivals will likely have enough seats to govern again without it,

An exit poll in Ireland’s general election suggests the three biggest parties have won roughly equal shares and the country is headed for another coalition government. A poll released as voting ended at 10 p.

Voting closes in Ireland’s election, with exit poll suggesting three biggest parties winning roughly equal shares