Third day of counting to continue
The final seats for Ireland’s general election are expected to be filled later on Monday.
There is only a handful of seats between the three main parties, with Fine Gael and Fine Gael the most likely to form a coalition government.
However, Sinn Féin insists it will remain involved in coalition negotiations.
Eighty-eight seats are needed to achieve a majority.
more than two thirds Seats announced.
The first priority proportions of the three largest parties are: Fianna Fáil 21.9%, Fine Gael 20.8%, and Sinn Féin 19.0%.
The election turnout was 59.7%, the lowest in more than a century.
The front-runner to be the next Taoiseach is Michéal Martin of Fianna Fáil.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael served together in the outgoing government.
After the second day of counting, the two parties are expected to gain more than 80 seats and appear most likely to return to government.
If they agree to do so, they may need the support of a smaller party or the many independent Democratic lawmakers expected to be elected when vote counting continues on Monday.
But Sinn Féin insists it has a role to play in the negotiations and plans to consult with other left-leaning parties.
But in the best-case scenario, these parties could total up to over 60 people and therefore need the support of independents.
Based on current projections, the scale of the challenge facing Sinn Féin is enormous.
Nothing can be ruled out at this stage as political negotiations are now likely to take place for weeks or even months.
