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PA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nVoters head to the polls across the Republic of Ireland in the local and European elections.<\/p>\n A total of 949 city and county council seats will be filled across 31 local authorities, and 14 MEPs will be elected to the European Parliament.<\/p>\n Polling stations will be open from 07:00 to 22:00 local time.<\/p>\n Many schoolchildren are getting the day off as their building is used as a polling centre.<\/p>\n Voting will take place in three electoral contests – the local elections, the European elections and the contest to elect a mayor for Limerick.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fourteen MEPs will be chosen to represent Ireland at the European Parliament.<\/p>\n Five will represent the constituency of Midlands North-West, a 15-county constituency in which 27 candidates are running.<\/p>\n Five will represent Ireland South, where 23 candidates are running across 10 counties.<\/p>\n And four will represent Dublin, where there are also 23 candidates on the ballot.<\/p>\n In the local elections, 949 seats are to be filled in county and city councils in 166 local electoral areas.<\/p>\n More than 2,100 candidates have been selected or declared for the local elections this year.<\/p>\n In an important race seen as a test case for other cities in Ireland, the people of Limerick will vote to elect the mayor of the city.<\/p>\n It is the first time a mayor will be directly elected in Ireland.<\/p>\n Voters will choose from a group of 15 candidates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Polling stations opened at 7am and will close at 10pm on Friday evening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Saturday morning, ballots will be separated and bundled, with local elections the first to be counted.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, some 373 million people across the EU are eligible to vote and will elect 720 MEPs in the European elections.<\/p>\n Voting will take place across four days, starting with the Netherlands on 6 June and Ireland on 7 June. <\/p>\n Some countries will vote on 8 June and 20 others on 9 June.<\/p>\n As a result, Ireland will not start counting European votes until 9 June, and results cannot be announced until voting concludes across Europe at 22:00 Irish time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow many seats are being filled?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
When do the polls close?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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PA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhen will we know the results?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n