Eoghan Kenny from the Labour Party has officially secured the fifth and final seat in Cork North Central after Mick Barry, the candidate from People Before Profit-Solidarity, retracted his demand for a recount, reports RTE.
A reassessment of the ballots commenced this morning, and after checking 63% of the votes, Mr. Kenny had expanded his margin over Mr. Barry to 39 votes.
Following the 17th tally in the early hours today, Mr. Kenny was declared elected with 7,461 votes.
Initially, Mr. Barry requested a recount when there was only a 35-vote difference between the two candidates, reports RTE.
During the 14th count, Ken O’Flynn from Independent Ireland and Colm Burke from Fine Gael were declared elected.
Pádraig O’Sullivan from Fianna Fáil was elected during the 12th count, while Thomas Gould from Sinn Féin became the first candidate to be elected in the constituency after the 10th count.
Vote counting for the general election continues this evening in the Cavan-Monaghan constituency, while a recount is in progress in Cork North-Central, reports RTE.
At the moment, Fianna Fáil holds 46 seats, Fine Gael has 38, Sinn Féin claims 37, Independents have 16, Labour has 11, the Social Democrats also have 11, Independent Ireland has 4, People Before Profit-Solidarity has 3, Aontú has 2, and the 100% Redress Party has secured one seat.
Although the counting is still ongoing, discussions about government formation have commenced, reports RTE.
However, it is expected that this process will take some time, and there is no anticipation of having a new government established by Christmas.
On Wednesday, parliamentary party meetings are scheduled for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Sinn Féin.
These meetings are expected to provide some insights into the next steps in this process, reports RTE.
Today, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald reached out to the leaders of the Labour Party and the Social Democrats in an effort to discuss forming an alternative government.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik expressed her desire to first engage in discussions with the Social Democrats and Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman, stating that Labour is not willing to join a government comprising only Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael at this juncture.
Newly-elected Independent Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran from Longford-Westmeath offered some advice to those considering entering a coalition, suggesting that spending one day in government is preferable to 100 days in opposition, reports RTE.
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