Sinn Fein gains electoral foothold

Sinn Fein has won as many seats as the Green Party

A former gun-runner for the outlawed Irish Republican Army (IRA) has brought drama to the Irish general election by winning a seat in parliament at the expense of ex-Foreign Minister Dick Spring.

Martin Ferris's victory in the south-western constituency of North Kerry gave his party, the IRA's political wing Sinn Fein, five seats in the new Dail with half the results announced on Saturday evening.

Results with 150 seats counted (out of a total of 166)

Fianna Fail: 74

Labour: 19

Fine Gael: 28

Progressive Democrats: 4

Sinn Fein: 5

Green Party: 6

Others: 14

Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and his Fianna Fail party appear set to return to power but speculation is growing that he may fall slightly short of an overall majority.

The main opposition party, Fine Gael, appears to have fared badly and its leader, Michael Noonan, has announced his resignation.

Mr Ferris's supporters cheered and broke into nationalist songs as the result was declared at the count in North Kerry.

Spring served in two coalition governments in 1992-97

The former convict did not top the list in the three-seat constituency, which was fought under Ireland's system of proportional representation, but came second to Fianna Fail with Fine Gael taking the third seat.

But Mr Spring, a former leader of the Labour Party, was out of the race in a major setback to one of the key movers of the Northern Ireland peace process who recently talked of wanting to return to the forefront of Irish politics.

Prison record

Mr Ferris spent 10 years in prison after being arrested by the Irish navy when it stopped a converted trawler off the coast of Kerry in 1984 carrying seven tonnes of weapons from the United States.

Mr Ferris, a local councillor since 1999, says he is firmly behind the peace process but the local party has faced allegations of vigilante attacks on drug-dealers, and he himself was arrested after an incident last December before being freed without charge.

He denies the allegations, saying they are part of a smear campaign against him.

Sinn Fein's gains in this election mean it continues to be the only political party on the island of Ireland to have seats in both the Irish and British parliaments.

Fianna Fail's hopes

Mr Ahern has ruled out any involvement with Sinn Fein in a coalition until the IRA is disbanded.

Fianna Fail has led a minority coalition government since the last legislative election in 1997 and was hoping for an overall majority on Friday.

Ahern's government was the first to serve a full term in office since World War Two

The BBC's Kevin Connelly in Dublin says the final result could be a new government similar to the old one but with a more radical opposition.

Turnout - on a day of torrential rain - was reported above 50% in many areas, rising to 70% in some rural districts.

Ireland's complex system of proportional representation means that calculating results can be time-consuming.

An electronic voting system used in some parts of the country could be used nationwide at the next elections if it proves to be a success.

Mr Ahern's outgoing coalition - in tandem with Mary Harney's Progressive Democrats - has presided over an economic boom, which has made both tax cuts and generous public spending possible.