Gabija GataveckaiteBBC NI Dublin correspondent , RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin
Catherine Connolly said she is “absolutely delighted” with the early tallies
Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys has congratulated Catherine Connolly on “becoming the next President of Ireland”.
Early tallies are indicating strong support for Connolly in the race to be the next Irish president.
Voters in the Republic of Ireland are electing the 10th Irish president, who will replace current head of state Michael D Higgins.
There are two contenders to become the next president, but voters had a choice of three candidates – Catherine Connolly, Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin, whose withdrawal from the race came too late to have his name removed from the ballot paper.
PA Media
Catherine Connolly (left) and Heather Humphreys are the two candidates in the election
“Catherine will be a president for all of us and she will be my president and I really would like to wish her all the very, very best,” Humphreys said.
“I have absolutely not one regret.”
Speaking from the count centre in her home county of Galway, Connolly said she was “absolutely delighted” with the early tallies.
Broadcaster RTÉ is reporting that Connolly is set to top the poll in all 12 Dublin constituencies.
It also reports that she is set to top the poll in Wicklow-Wexford.
At the Cavan-Monaghan count centre, Humphreys acknowledged the strong support she has received, according to tallies, in her home constituency.
Concerns about spoiled votes
Ballot boxes opened at 09.00 local time on Saturday and the official result is due to be announced at Dublin Castle later.
Early tallies at count centres showed very strong support for Connolly, the independent candidate.
Tallies are also showing a lot of spoiled votes.
One tally from Dublin Bay South, a constituency with a very strong Fine Gael vote, showed overwhelming support for Connolly – 69 first preferences for her and only 20 for Humphreys.
The same tally showed 13 spoiled ballots.
There was only one first preference vote for Gavin.
An early tally from the Dublin North West constituency indicated 82 first preferences for Connolly, with 20 first preferences for Humphreys.
This box had 34 spoiled votes and only four first preference votes for Gavin.
Reuters
A large number of spoiled votes have been spotted at count centres across Ireland
Earlier on Saturday Fine Gael deputy leader, Helen McEntee, congratulated Connolly.
Speaking from a count centre in Ashbourne, Dublin, McEntee said she looked forward to working with Connolly but was proud to support Humphreys.
“We are the only party that put forward a candidate,” McEntee added.
“The party got behind her and as with any election, afterwards when the dust settles and we see the final result we’ll reflect on the election and where we go from here.”
Left wing parties who backed the Connolly campaign are praising it as a “great day”.
Irish Labour party leader Ivana Bacik said parties uniting to back Connolly was an example of how they can work together in a left-wing government.
“I think this shows that an alternative vision is possible, that ambition I expressed in the lead up to last year’s general election for a centre-led left government, that is now possible,” she told BBC News NI.
“I think all of us involved in this campaign want to see this as not the end of something but as the beginning of a momentum towards an alternative government, towards an end of the politics of the past.”
Bacik also raised concerns about the high levels of spoiled votes, saying she also did a tally for one box of votes in her constituency, which had a higher number of spoiled ballots than preferences for Humphreys.
Social Democrats TD (MP) Jennifer Whitmore, who also backed Connolly, said Fine Gael ran a “negative campaign”.
She said Connolly’s campaign and approach was “so positive” and presented “an alternative”.
“Negative campaigning that we saw particularly in the last couple of weeks from Fine Gael backfired on them,” she said.
The votes are being counted in each of the 43 constituencies
Early unofficial indications have suggested the turnout could potentially struggle to reach the record low of just under 40% recorded in the last presidential election in 2018.
Connolly is an independent politician backed by a number of left-wing parties including Sinn Féin.
She has been a TD (member of parliament) since 2016 and previously worked as a psychologist and barrister. She is from Galway.
Humphreys is the Fine Gael candidate. She was a TD from 2011 to 2024 and served in a number of senior cabinet ministerial positions, including social protection and justice.
She comes from a Protestant background and is from Monaghan.
Some 3.6 million people were eligible to vote in the election, which comes to an end after months of campaigning by both candidates.
To get nominated, candidates needed either 20 members of the Oireachtas, the Irish houses of parliament, or four city and county councils, to back them.
Connolly was the first to declare her intention to run last July.
She has the support of a number of left-wing parties, including Sinn Féin, Labour and the Social Democrats as well as independent politicians.
Humphreys was selected to run for Fine Gael after the party’s initial candidate, former EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, withdrew from the race in August for medical reasons.
A third candidate, Jim Gavin, who was selected by the main coalition party, Fianna Fáil, withdrew from the campaign earlier in October after intense controversy over a 16-year-old rental dispute in which he owed €3,300 (£2,870) to a former tenant.
However, as his withdrawal came after the close of nominations, the law states his name must remain on the ballot paper.
Any votes cast for him will be counted as legitimate and transferred to the two other candidates if necessary.
