Irish presidential count begins

Early reports from count centres have put veteran politician Michael D Higgins well in front in the Irish presidential election.Figures from tally teams after about two hours of counting put Mr Higgins on about 40%, with independent Sean Gallagher close to 30%.Counting of the votes began on Friday morning.Turnout is reported to be about 50%, down from around 70% in the general election in February.There are seven candidates in the race to succeed Mary McAleese, who has been president since 1997.The president, who serves as a ceremonial head of state, is elected for a seven-year term and can be re-elected only once.The seven candidates are Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell, Michael D Higgins of the Labour Party, Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness as well as independents Sean Gallagher, Dana Rosemary Scallon, Mary Davis and David Norris.Counting began at 09:00 BST on Friday and the winner is expected to be announced on Saturday afternoon.The first national count will be announced once results from all 43 constituencies are in, which is expected to be early on Friday evening.The presidential returning officer will have to decide whether to continue into the early hours to get a final result or to adjourn until Saturday morning.The campaign for the presidency has been beset by controversy with several of the candidates coming under pressure over their past careers.The election arrives as the country continues its bid to recover from the worst recession in living memory.