Fianna Fail party leads tight race in Irish general election

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The majority of seats in Ireland’s parliamentary election have been filled, with the Fianna Fail (FF) party continuing to lead a tight three-way battle in the country's general election.

So far, 162 of 174 seats have been filled as counting continued to determine the winner of the election battle.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Micheal Martin's FF party is leading with 43 seats, while a neck-and-neck race continues between Prime Minister Simon Harris' Fine Gael (FG) and Mary Lou McDonald's Sinn Fein (SF) as both have so far gained 36 seats each.

Social Democrats have 11 seats, followed by Labour with 9 in Friday's snap elections which recorded a voter turnout of 59.7%.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly lost his seat in Dail, Irish parliament, after being eliminated in Wicklow in the early hours of Monday, according to Irish Times.

The remaining seats are expected to be filled later on Monday.

A new coalition between FF and FG parties is expected to emerge, according to predictions as both center-right parties may need a small group of independent lawmakers to form a coalition as 88 seats are needed for a majority.

Both FF and FG have again ruled out Irish republican Sinn Fein as a potential coalition partner in the next government.

The election came following the dissolution of the 33rd Dail on Nov. 8 by President Michael Higgins at the request of Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Simon Harris.

The cost of living, housing shortage, immigration and asylum management were among the main issues during the political campaigns ahead of the elections.