Opposition Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said Saturday he expected to be Ireland's next prime minister after general elections in which his party had a "phenomenal and staggering" result, dpa reported.
With all first counts complete in 43 constituencies, Fine Gael held 36.1 per cent of the vote in Friday's elections, its best result ever but not enough for an overall majority.
With stability in mind, Fine Gael is expected to look to the Labour Party to form a coalition government.
Prime Minister Brian Cowen conceded that ruling Fianna Fail was having a "difficult day" as he saw his party's support fall to historically low levels.
Fianna Fail, which had 41 per cent of the poll in the last election, had fallen to 17.4 per cent, its worst result ever.
Its highest profile casualty, Deputy Prime Minister Mary Coughlan, lost her seat in the Donegal South West constituency in Ireland's north-west.
"It's like Fianna Fail has been hit by a tsunami," said former Fianna Fail minister Batt O'Keeffe.
After 14 years in government, the party has been blamed for Ireland's economic downfall, which culminated last November in an EU/IMF bailout of 85 billion euros (116 billion dollars).
The first deputy to be elected to the Dail (Irish parliament) was Joan Burton, who topped the poll in Dublin West, where Fianna Fail's finance minister may prove to be the only party member to retain his seat in the capital.
The Labour Party, with 19.5 after the first count, was on course for its best-ever general election result, and was doing particular well in Dublin.
"The immediate future is very challenging and those who voted in such numbers for Labour have vested their hopes in the ballot they have cast so decisively," said former Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte, the second candidate to be elected.
Fianna Fail casualties included Junior Ministers Pat Carey, Sean Haughey and Conor Lenihan, who all lost their seats in Dublin. Veteran of the Dail and former education minister Mary O'Rourke also lost her seat. While Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin was also in danger of losing her seat.
Conor Lenihan said there was "an avalanche against Fianna Fail and while it did make mistakes it is paying the ultimate price."
Also paying the price for its coalition partnership with Fianna Fail was the Green Party, which with 1.8 per cent was unlikely to win any seats.
Independent Shane Ross topped the poll in Dublin South, and Independents now have 15.2 per cent of the vote.
Nationalist Sinn Fein support was at a record 9.9 per cent after the first count. Its President Gerry Adams won a seat south of the border with Northern Ireland in Louth in the country's north-east for the first time ever.
Final official results will not be available until Sunday.
Turnout was recorded at 70 per cent on Friday, up slightly from 67 per cent at the last poll in May 2007.
There were 15 hours of polling in 43 constituencies across the country, where over 3.1 million people were eligible to elect 165 representatives to the 31st Dail (parliament).
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