Government loses ground in Irish elections

DUBLIN, Ireland, June 6 (UPI) -- Irish voters rejected the country's governing coalition in local elections and two by-elections as results were released Saturday.

An exit poll by the state broadcaster, RTE, showed Fianna Fail, the senior partner in the government, and the Green Party losing ground to Fine Gael, the leading opposition party, and the Labor Party. The results for seats in the European Parliament were less clear, with Fianna Fail losing one and Fine Gael picking up one seat to balance a loss.

In Dublin South, George Lee of Fine Gael won a special election for a parliamentary seat with more than 27,000 votes. He outpolled the combined total of the Labor and Fianna Fail parties, giving him a first-round victory.

Independent Maureen O'Sullivan won by a smaller margin in Dublin Central.

Enda Kenny, leader of Fine Gael, said he would move for a vote of no confidence in the government when the Dail or parliament meets Tuesday. But Prime Minister Brian Cowen, while acknowledging the election results are bad for his party, said he plans to continue to govern until a general election in 2012.