The dissolution of Ireland's parliament brought to an end the four-and-a-half-year lifespan of the historic Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Green Party coalition government. It could be some time before the successors are finalised.
Ireland's general election takes place on Friday, marking the end of a three-week campaign since the dissolution of Parliament. Taoiseach Simon Harris is hoping his centre-right Fine Gael party can secure a historic fourth successive term in office. Four years ago, the country's two historic centre-wing rivals - Fine Gael and Fianna Fail - joined forces to enter coalition government together.
Nearly 700 candidates have entered the race but no one party has fielded enough to win a majority, making another coalition government inevitable. The number of TDs has increased from 160 to 174 this time, and they will be elected from 43 constituencies across the country. This is the complicated part. The technical term for the electoral process is proportional representation with a single transferable vote.
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