Voters will run for office

The polls will open in the Irish general election.

Polling stations will open between 07:00 and 22:00 local time on Friday to allow voters to elect representatives to serve as Teachtaí Dála (TDs) in the Dáil, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament).

The next Dáil, on the 34th, will have 174 TDs, up from 160 in 2020.

Friday’s vote comes after a three-week election campaign.

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

Eighty-eight TDs is the number needed for an absolute 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, be a resident of Ireland, and be listed on the Irish Electoral Register.

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

These parties are joined by many smaller parties and a large number of independent candidates.

The counting of votes begins on Saturday morning and is expected to continue through the weekend and possibly into the following week.

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

The government will be officially formed when the Dáil passes a vote to install a new taoiseach (prime minister of Ireland).