Irish election: Islands go to the polls

Gola Island, off the coast of Donegal, is one of 12 offshore islands which vote a day early

Voting in the Irish general election has begun on 12 offshore islands, a day before the polls are due to open across the rest of the country.

It has been a long-standing tradition that island residents vote earlier than the rest of the electorate.

This is due to weather considerations, as rough seas could affect the transportation of ballot boxes to and from the mainland and delay results.

Polls on the mainland are open between 07:00 and 22:00 local time on Saturday.

More than 500 candidates are standing in 39 constituencies and there are 160 seats to be filled.

Irish and British citizens who are resident in the Republic of Ireland are eligible to vote, provided that they are on the register of electors.

On Friday morning, ballot boxes were delivered to polling stations on the islands by ferry and helicopter.

About 2,100 people living on islands off the coasts of Galway, Donegal and Mayo have registered to vote.

Inishfree Island, which is about 5km (3.1 miles) off the Donegal coast, has just four registered voters.

Change ahead

Islanders have argued that having to cast their vote early puts them at a disadvantage.

Legislation is in the process of being passed to allow them to vote on the same day as the rest of the country.

However, the new law was not passed in time for this election.

The 8 February poll is the first time in more than a century that a general election has been held on a Saturday in Ireland.

The previous weekend poll predates the partition of Ireland and was held in 1918.

In order to win an outright majority and govern alone, parties need to win 80 seats - half of the seats available in the next Dáil (Irish Parliament).

In the last general election, no party came close to a majority and it took 10 weeks of negotiations to form a government.