Irish General Election: Fianna Fáil emerges as the largest party.

Fianna Fáil has won the largest number of seats in the Dáil (lower house of parliament) since the Republic of Ireland’s general election.

It won 48 seats while Sinn Féin – the main opposition party in the last Dáil – won 39 seats.

Fine Gael, which has been in coalition with Fianna Fáil since 2020, is third with 38 seats.

Those two parties look best placed to form a new government, but Sinn Féin insists it will still be involved in coalition talks.

Candidates contested 174 seats in the Dáil, with 88 needed to secure a majority.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have a combined 86.

The first preference percentage share for the three largest parties was: Fianna Fáil 21.9%, Fine Gael 20.8%, Sinn Féin 19.0%.

Turnout for the election was 59.7%, the lowest in more than a century.

Fianna Fáil deputy leader Jack Chambers told RTE’s Morning Ireland on Monday that he did not expect a new government to be formed before Christmas.

But he said he did not expect the negotiations to take five months like last time.

The election was disappointing for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s junior coalition partner, the Green Party, which fell from 12 seats to just one.

To return to government, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have several options, including dealing with Labor or the Social Democrats – who won 11 seats each – or the right-wing party Independent Ireland. Trying to make a deal with, including four seats

Another option would be to work with some of the 16 independent politicians, two Aontú TDs (MPs) or a single TD from the 100% Redress Party.

The frontrunner to become the next Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) is Fianna Fáil leader Michael Martin.

Nothing can be ruled out at this stage as weeks, not months, of political negotiations are now likely.

Labor TD Mary Sherlock said her party would not go into government alone with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael without other smaller parties.

“There is no way I can imagine Labor going into government with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. We can only build a basis for dialogue if we are with the other smaller parties,” Sherlock said. told RTÉ.

Eoin Ó Broin, Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Mid West, said his party was keen to talk to other “progressive parties”.

He insisted that “no deal has been done yet”.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would obviously prefer to go together, despite the cost to the general population, but they haven’t formed a government yet,” he said.

“It’s incumbent upon us to come together with other like-minded parties to see how we can make sure that people have access to those really pressing issues, housing, health care, cost of living. , be at the center of the agenda.”

Chambers, who has been re-elected in the Dublin West constituency, said his party was “very clear” on its position with Sinn Féin.

“There is no common ground when it comes to substance in policy,” he added.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster, he said: “We are going to significantly increase our representation here in the capital of Dublin and indeed across the country.

“And we’ll have a greater level of representation in the next deal than we did in the last one, and that’s serving in government at a time when we’re facing serious economic challenges.”

Among the new TDs is Fine Gael’s Emer Currie.

The former Irish senator is the daughter of the late Northern Ireland politician Austin Currie, who co-founded the Social Democratic and Labor parties.

“He would have been absolutely delighted,” Kerry told Good Morning Ulster, adding that his selection was a “very special” moment for his whole family.

With his party back in government, Currie said the election results showed the public was satisfied with the status quo.

“It’s a statement that he felt that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil worked well together,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sian O’Callaghan, deputy leader of the Social Democrats, said “there is a possibility of a coalition with left-wing parties” but that a left-only government would not be possible because of the results so far.

Callaghan has been re-elected in Dublin Bay North.

Responding to claims that the left had failed to consolidate its argument ahead of the election, O’Callaghan said: “I think every party needs to stand on its own two feet and make the case to the voters. Need to make why people should vote for him.

“The reason we have different parties is because there are differences and it also gives people a different choice in the election.”

According to Lisa Cannon, assistant professor of political science at Trinity College, Dublin, the Green Party will be “very disappointed” in their results.

“They were contesting this election with 12 seats, they have lost all but one,” he said.

“They were considered lucky to keep it – it was the seat of their leader, Roderick O’Gorman.

“And I think it’s a little hard for him to take in the sense that he’s had many, many important policy wins in government.”