Ireland's opposition braced for historic victory - Reuters Africa

By Carmel Crimmins

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's main opposition party was expected to be swept into power on Saturday on a wave of voter anger over the country's economic collapse and resentment at the harsh rescue terms laid down by its European partners.

In the biggest political shake-up since Ireland won independence from Britain in 1921, Enda Kenny's centre-right Fine Gael party is expected to replace a decimated Fianna Fail as the dominant force in Irish politics.

Opinion polls carried out before Friday's election showed Fianna Fail, in government for most of the past 79 years, would be the first political victim of Europe's debt crisis while Fine Gael was within shot of an outright majority for the first time.

State broadcaster RTE said voter turnout appeared to be strong with expectations of an increase on the 67 percent turnout recorded at the last election in 2007 when a disastrous property bubble, at the root of the current crisis, peaked.

Manual counting of votes will start at 9 a.m. and the broad outline of a new parliament should be known late on Saturday. RTE will have an exit poll at 8 a.m.

Ireland's transformation from economic pin-up to euro zone struggler has electrified the 3 million plus electorate but overall their instincts remain conservative.

Like Fianna Fail, Fine Gael has a pro-business and low-tax ideology and it has pledged to stick to the overall austerity targets laid down by the EU and IMF as a condition of an 85 billion euros bailout package agreed in December.

Kenny, a former teacher and Ireland's longest-serving parliamentarian, is almost certain to be the next prime minister.   Continued...