The results of an exit poll this evening, Saturday, February 8, have given the public a glimpse of how the next government and the new Dáil Éireann could shape up – with a dead heat on the cards suggested, following a three-way tie between the “big three” parties of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin.
The Ipsos MRBI exit poll, commissioned by RTÉ, TG4, the Irish Times and University College Dublin (UCD), was published this evening at 10:00pm.
Approximately 5,000 people across the country were interviewed by Ipsos MRBI after casting their votes.
According to state broadcaster RTÉ, the findings have shown that Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin are tied at 22% apiece in terms of support.
- Fine Gael – 22.4%;
- Sinn Féin – 22.3%;
- Fianna Fáil – 22.2%;
- Green Party – 7.9%;
- Labour Party – 4.6%;
- Soc Democrats – 3.4%; and
- Solidarity-PBP – 2.8%.
Today was the first time in more than 100 years – since 1918 to be exact – that a General Election has taken place on a Saturday.
All-in-all, 531 candidate are running across all the constituencies, vying for a total of 160 seats, with only one automatically filled – Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail.
Exit poll projection #GE2020 pic.twitter.com/FEjoB48zsD
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 8, 2020
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Of the members of the most recent Dáil (which was dissolved in January by President Michael D. Higgins so this election could be called) 18 of them are not seeking re-election, including former Taoiseach Enda Kenny and former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams.