Voting began on Friday morning in Ireland's general election amid a tight race between the incumbent coalition parties and the opposition party Sinn Fein.

The polls opened at 7 a.m. (0800 CET) and are scheduled to close at 10 p.m.

WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA — Namibia extended voting for a second time Thursday with the opposition crying foul after logistical failures prevented many people from casting their ballots in the closely fought election.

With the ruling party facing its strongest challenge yet, opposition parties called for a halt to the vote counting and said they had lost confidence in the process.

WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) — A woman who joined Namibia’s underground independence movement in the 1970s is a strong contender to become its first female leader as the country voted Wednesday in a presidential election.

As we approach the 2024 election, Women for Election is calling for a crucial shift in Ireland’s political landscape, urging voters in Wexford and Wicklow-Wexford to support the record number of female candidates standing for election.

With a long history of gender imbalance in the Dáil, this election presents a unique opportunity to address this inequality and ensure that women’s voices are more fully represented in the decisions that shape our future.

Women are "grossly under-represented" in Irish politics and the political system is "stacked in men's favour", a seminar exploring female representation in local politics has heard. 

Ireland's political system is not female friendly — because it was designed by Victorian men for Victorian men. And it "doesn't suit dads either" it was pointed out at the discussion about the supports available to women in politics, ongoing challenges, and the gender barriers that exist in politics.