SOME IRISH VOTERS CALL FOR CHANGE AS ELECTION GETS UNDERWAY – Polling before the vote showed a similar level of support for the three main parties
Irish voters began casting their ballots on Friday in a general election that will decide whether the ruling center-right coalition led by Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris will return to government.
Opinion polling before the vote showed a similar level of support for each of the three main parties, which would likely keep Fine Gael leader Harris and his main coalition partner, Fianna Fail, in power.
However, several voters who spoke to reporters on Friday said they hoped for a change.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have both pledged to govern again without Sinn Fein, meaning the left-wing party, which had a commanding opinion poll lead until earlier this year, needs to finish well ahead of both to change the dynamic.
During the campaign, parties have sought to lure voters with ambitious spending plans to address a rising cost of living and a housing shortage.
Immigration was another key campaign topic as the main political parties joined a raft of far-right independent candidates in adopting tougher stances on rising immigration.
