Ahern says election result not foregone conclusion

Despite two new opinion polls giving Fianna Fáil between 80 and 87 seats, Mr Bertie Ahern this morning said the General Election result is not a foregone conclusion.

He called on every citizen regardless of political affiliation to vote during the 15 hours when polling stations will be open on Friday.

Mr Ahern said nothing he had seen during the campaign suggested a Fianna Fáil majority was possible. "I still hold the view that it will be the outgoing Government that will make it [the next Government]".

Mr Charlie McCreevy said: "I still ask people to produce to me a list of the 84 seats. I have been around a long time and have noted that the high first preference Fianna Fáil secured in previous elections didn’t get anything like [84 seats]".

He said it was now practically impossible for any party to secure an overall majority following the redrawing of the constituency boundaries.

When asked if the audience for last night’s televised debate showed an appetite for more than the single debate Fianna Fáil had agreed to, Mr Ahern quipped he was glad himself and Fine Gael leader Mr Michael Noonan had been able to pull such a crowd.

Mr Ahern said he did not believe there was an audience for more than one such contest.

To guauge his performance, Mr Ahern said he "checked the straw poll at 7 o’clock this morning - obviously they are the best poll of all" and found he had "done very well" in last night’s debate.

Mr Ahern said he esimated he has spent up to five hours per day on this campaign with the regional, local, international press and national press. "I reckon I’ll have done over 100 hours of live media and there is no prime minister anywhere in the world who does that".