Sinn F?in, the "Perennial Third Place," Leads in Ireland General Election... "Will Form Coalition"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] In the Irish general election, the nationalist left-wing party Sinn F?in broke the de facto two-party system by winning the highest number of votes. With no party holding a majority, Sinn F?in, which has long been labeled as the perennial third party, hinted at the possibility of forming a coalition government.

According to the Irish Times and others on the 9th (local time), the vote count for the first preference candidates in the Irish general election held the previous day showed Sinn F?in securing 24.5% of the vote, ranking first. The opposition Fianna F?il followed with 22.2%, and the ruling Fine Gael came in third with 20.9%.

The Irish general election is conducted using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, a form of proportional representation where voters rank candidates in order of preference. The counting completed on this day was for the first preference votes, with further counts expected to be conducted later. The final results are anticipated to be announced between the 10th and 11th. According to the Irish Times, so far, 77 of the 160 seats in the Irish lower house have been filled, with Sinn F?in holding 29 of those seats.

Sinn F?in originated as the political organization of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which was considered the main perpetrator of violence such as terrorism and assassinations during the Northern Ireland conflict. The party advocates for the unification of Northern Ireland and Ireland. In the 1987 general election, Sinn F?in recorded a 1.6% vote share, increasing to 6.9% in 2007, 9.9% in 2011, and 13.8% in 2016.

The Guardian reported, "Irish citizens tired of the two-party system have made Sinn F?in mainstream," noting that recent political anger has grown due to high rents, homelessness, and weakening healthcare services.

Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn F?in, wrote on Twitter that "(Sinn F?in) achieved the highest vote share" and "officially won the election." She later told reporters that she plans to discuss coalition formation with all parties and urged them to accept dialogue. She stated, "We will not tolerate talks that exclude Sinn F?in, which represents one-quarter of the voters," and criticized those who refuse this as "undemocratic behavior," according to foreign media.

Fine Gael and Fianna F?il have publicly stated they will not form a coalition with Sinn F?in. However, after the election results were announced, Fianna F?il leader Miche?l Martin acknowledged that there are policy incompatibilities between Fianna F?il and Sinn F?in but said, "Our policies and principles have not changed overnight, but the important thing is to put the country first," hinting at the possibility of a coalition. Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar said, "It will now be quite difficult for Ireland to form a government with a three-party system," while maintaining his stance against forming a coalition with Sinn F?in, which was once aligned with the IRA.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.