(MENAFN) Ireland went to the polls on Friday to select its next president, with over 3.6 million citizens eligible to cast their votes at more than 5,500 polling locations across the country.

According to local news, voting stations opened at 7 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) and will stay operational until 10 p.m. (2100 GMT), concluding a campaign that featured three officially nominated candidates.

The ballot includes Fianna Fáil’s Jim Gavin, Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys, and independent contender Catherine Connolly.

Despite withdrawing after nominations closed, Gavin’s name remains on the ballot, and any votes for him will be counted and reallocated according to Ireland’s electoral system.

Voters are instructed to rank candidates by preference—one, two, or three—under the proportional representation framework known as the single transferable vote.

If no candidate achieves the necessary quota, the contender with the fewest votes is removed, and their ballots are redistributed according to the voters’ subsequent preferences.

For tens of thousands of citizens, this election represents their inaugural experience casting a vote.

A survey released on Thursday indicated Connolly held 40% support, compared with 25% for her opponent Humphreys, a former Cabinet minister.

Excluding undecided voters and spoiled ballots, Connolly’s backing increased to 55% versus Humphreys’ 35%.

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