Ireland goes to the polls today in a vote that looks closer than previously expected after prime minister Simon Harris lost the momentum that motivated him to call an election a few months ahead of scheduleHarris’s strong polling numbers since he became Taoiseach seven months ago,

A fumbled meeting with a voter may dent Simon Harris’s popularity. But his coalition government’s main opposition, the nationalist party Sinn Fein, will likely remain locked out of power.

Irish voters have begun heading to the polls in a closely fought general election. Ireland's Prime Minister Simon Harris had called for snap polls earlier this month.

Ireland is voting in a parliamentary election that will decide the next government. It also will show whether Ireland bucks the global trend of incumbents being ousted by disgruntled voters.