THE OVERALL turnout for the local and European elections could exceed the 59 per cent level of the 2004 elections, according to the main political parties last night. In the Dublin South byelection, however, the 57% turnout, confirmed late last night by returning officer John Fitzpatrick, was much lower than the last general election which almost touched 69 per cent.
Counting for the two Dáil byelections and the election of 1,627 councillors in 114 local councils will commence at 9am today with the first results expected in the early afternoon.
The first counts for both Dublin byelections are expected shortly after midday. The final declaration for Dublin South is expected by mid-afternoon. By contrast, the final result for Dublin Central, due to he closer nature of the contest, is not expected until much later this evening.
Counting of votes for the European elections will not commence until 9am tomorrow, although tallies will be possible today while the ballot papers are sorted. The result for the four European constituencies will be held back until 9pm tomorrow to coincide with results in the other 26 EU Member States. The number of MEPs is being reduced from 13 to 12 compared to five years ago. The current breakdown of seats is Fine Gael (5); Fianna Fáil (4); Labour (1); Sinn Féin (1); Independents (2).
In 2004, Fine Fáil won 302 of the full 883 council seats, while Fine Gael won 293. The focus today will be on whether Fine Gael can become the dominant party in local government for the first time.
The bulk of the counts for the 258 local electoral areas in the State will be completed by tonight, although the final results for a small number of polls may not be declared until tomorrow morning.
Preliminary figures obtained by the main political parties yesterday evening indicated a strong turnout in rural areas with voting levels holding up well urban areas and in the commuter belts around Dublin.