Irish General Election: Voters go to the polls.

The polls have opened for Ireland’s general election.

Voters can exercise their right to vote until 22:00 local time to elect representatives who serve as Teachtaí Dála (TDs) in the Dáil, the lower house of the Oireachtas (Parliament of Ireland).

The next deal, which will be the 34th, will have 174 TDs, up from 160 in 2020.

Friday’s vote comes after three weeks of campaigning.

Voters will elect 173 TDs, as one seat in the Dáil goes to the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker).

88 TDs is the number required for an overall majority.

The new TDs will represent 43 constituencies across the Republic of Ireland.

More than 3.4 million people are registered to vote in the Republic of Ireland.

To vote in an election, voters must be over 18 years of age, be an Irish or British citizen, resident in Ireland, and be listed on the Irish Electoral Register.

The election candidates include representatives from the three main parties – outgoing coalition partners Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, and the leading opposition party in outgoing Dail, Sinn Féin.

These parties include many smaller parties and a significant number of independent candidates.

Counting of votes began on Saturday morning and is expected to continue through the weekend and possibly into next week.

The first sitting of the 34th Dail is scheduled for Wednesday, December 18 at 10:30 am.

A government will be formally formed when the Dáil passes a vote to install a new Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister).