Dublin: The counting of votes for the local elections in Ireland will commence at 9 a.m. on Saturday, with the European election votes being counted starting Sunday morning. The votes for the mayor of Limerick will only be tallied after Monday.
Historically, exit polls have not been a reliable predictor of outcomes. In 2019, exit polls suggested a significant gain for the Green Party, which did not materialise as expected. This year’s exit polls favour Sinn Féin.
European Election Overview
In the European elections, 73 candidates vied for 14 seats across three constituencies. The local elections will determine 949 councillors.
Initially, ballots for the European and local elections are sorted and sent to three counting centers. The ballots are then mixed and sorted by first preference, with invalid votes excluded. The quota, or minimum number of votes required to win, is then calculated from valid votes. Candidates exceeding this quota are elected, and their surplus votes are distributed to other candidates based on voter preferences. If no candidate meets the quota in the first count, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes redistributed. This process continues until the quota is met. Each constituency has a returning officer overseeing the process.
Counting Centres
Dublin: RDS, Simmonscourt, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Midlands North West: TF Royal, Castlebar, Mayo
South: Nemo Rangers GAA Club, South Douglas Road, Cork
MEP Vote Counting
The counting of votes for the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) will start at 9 a.m. on Sunday. While counting may finish by Sunday afternoon or evening, results will not be announced until all EU countries have completed voting. Initial results are expected by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Local Election Vote Counting
Local election vote counting, although straightforward, is complicated by the large number of candidates. Each local authority will have its own count centre.
Dublin City Council: RDS, Main Hall, Shelbourne Hall, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Fingal County Council: National Show Centre, Stockhall Lane, Cloughran, Dublin
South Dublin County Council: Dublin Weston Airport, Backwestonpark
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council: Building 1 Cherrywood Business Park, Cherrywood, Dublin
Cork City: City Hall
County Cork: Community Centre Clonakilty (West Cork LEA), Mallow Youth Centre (North Cork LEA), and County Hall (South Cork LEA) on Carrigrohane Road.
While local election results are simpler and expected sooner, the European election results will take longer, potentially days, to finalise. In 2019, the complete results were not announced until June 5th, with a recount in one constituency prolonging the process.
This year’s election outcomes are particularly anticipated given the current debates on housing, living costs, and immigration, alongside criticisms faced by government allies on various policies.
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