Voting Stations Have Closed in Ireland's Presidential Election
Voting has concluded in the Irish presidential election, which will decide who replaces outgoing head of state Michael D Higgins in November.
The leading competitors - Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys - must remain patient until Saturday morning for the earliest signs of how the country has voted before discovering if they will become Ireland's 10th president.
Initial estimates suggest the election attendance could potentially struggle to achieve the lowest ever of just under 40% registered in the previous presidential race.
Vote Tallying
The vote counting starts at 09:00 local time on the weekend and the official result is expected to be declared at Dublin Castle that night.
The president of Ireland is chosen by representative voting via the single transferable vote (PR-STV) system.
Selections were cast at about numerous polling places in 43 electoral districts around the state between 7 AM and 10 PM on Friday.
Aspirants
Catherine Connolly is campaigning as an independent candidate with the support of a diverse range of liberal organizations and political figures, including the leading challenger party Sinn Féin.
The governing coalition, Fine Gael, is supported by former government minister, Heather Humphreys, who originates from a Protestant family in the frontier region of Monaghan.
A third candidate, Jim Gavin, who was nominated by the main coalition party, Fianna Fáil, stepped down from the election bid earlier in the tenth month after major dispute over a long-standing rental issue.
However, as his departure came after the close of nominations, the law specifies his candidacy must stay on the election ballot.
Any votes submitted for him will be counted as legitimate and passed on to the other aspirants if necessary.
Voter Information
According to An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Ireland's autonomous election authority, about 3.6 million eligible Irish citizens are eligible to participate.
Those voting on Friday included Bridie Dunphy, age 104, who made her way to a voting location near her dwelling in the capital.
Irish citizens in the six counties are not permitted to cast ballots in the election.
But, as occurred in the instance of ex-president Mary McAleese, Irish citizens from the northern territory are authorized to participate in the vote, even though they cannot cast ballots.
This peculiar situation is the subject of an ongoing debate and cross-border campaigners have been lobbying to have electoral privileges expanded to Irish citizens in the six counties.
Michael D Higgins is expected to finish the final of his back-to-back terms of office at the witching hour on the 10 November, with the new president projected to be formally installed the subsequent day.
