The first counts from the two constituencies in the European elections outside of Dublin are expected today (Monday, June 10).
Ireland South and Ireland Midlands North West will each elect five candidates to the European Parliament, with some familiar faces awaiting their fate.
Dublin is the only one of the three constituencies in Ireland to deliver a first count, which was revealed late last night (Sunday, June 9).
This first count saw Barry Andrews from Fianna Fáil top the poll, with 62,148 votes. Fine Gael’s Regina Doherty was not far behind, with 61,344 votes.
These two candidates comfortably outpolled all other candidates, with the next four highest-polling candidates receiving between 30,000 and 36,000 votes, among them the Green Party’s Ciarán Cuffe.
None of the candidates reached the quota of 75,345, meaning further counts will be needed before any of the four seats are filled.
The Dublin constituency includes the city and wider county, with 376,720 valid votes received.
Voters in all three constituencies went to the polls on Friday. However, the results of counts could not be announced until all countries in the EU had completed their elections last night.
We should begin to get a picture of what to expect from Ireland South and Ireland Midlands North West as today progresses, though counting is likely to take several days.
Some of the key candidates, from a rural and agricultural affairs point of view, in the Midlands North West include Barry Cowen, Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Chris MacManus, Ciaran Mullooly, and Peadar Tóibín.
Ones to watch in Ireland South include Billy Kelleher, Seán Kelly, Michael McNamara, Grace O’Sullivan, and Eddie Punch.
Looking across Europe, eight of the 27 members states have completed their counts for the 720 MEPs to be elected.
Preliminary projections seem to indicate that the European People’s Party (EPP), of which Fine Gael is a member and which is already the largest party group in the parliament, seems on track to retain that position by gaining some seats, for a total of just over 180 seats.
However, the Renew Europe group, of which Fianna Fáil is a member, is set to lose some 20 seats, with its final seat total potentially falling below 80.
The Green group, meanwhile, also appears to have had a difficult election, with projections also showing them losing about 20 seats, potentially taking just over 50 seats.
Stay tuned to Agriland for updates on the European elections throughout the week.