Irish vote in parliamentary elections

DUBLIN, Ireland, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Irish voters began choosing from among 566 candidates for 165 seats in Parliament Friday in the country's first election since receiving a financial bailout.

Divisions had emerged in the ruling coalition between Fianna Fail and the Green Party going into the day's voting, the BBC reported.

In November, Ireland received a $113 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

Ireland has an unemployment rate of 13.4 percent, translating to about 450,000 people out of work. Jobless benefits recently were reduced.

Vote-counting is expected to begin Saturday morning, election officials said. Lawmakers convene March 9.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny urged people to turn their anger against the current administration into action when they vote, The Irish Times reported.

"If this election is to take the political pulse of our nation," Kenny said, "I want every beat and every vote to show a nation that looks with hope, generosity and courage to the future and not with regret or hurt and bitterness of the past."

Labor Party candidate Eamon Gilmore asked voters not to give any party a monopoly on government power.

"We need a fair and balanced government that brings people together," Gilmore said. "Labor is the party best placed to bring people together to take on our problems and build a better and fairer Ireland."