Ireland's main opposition Sinn Fein looked on course to win the most votes at a general election by the narrowest of margins on Friday, but its two main centre-right rivals will likely have enough seats to govern again without it,

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris’s party was locked in a virtual dead heat with Sinn Fein in the general election, according to the official exit poll, suggesting his decision to go to the country early did not go as planned.