British News Agency

According to *The Guardian*, Heather Humphreys conceded defeat after early vote counts revealed an unbridgeable gap between the candidates.

Independent leftist candidate Catherine Connolly scored a decisive victory in the Irish presidential election. Humphreys said: “Catherine will be everyone’s president, and she will be my president. I wish her the very best.”

According to unofficial but generally reliable reports from tally officials, Connolly held 64 percent of the vote after two-thirds had been counted.

The 68-year-old Connolly captured the imagination of many young people and was supported by an alliance of left-wing opposition parties in Friday’s election.

Former cabinet minister and *Fine Gael* candidate Heather Humphreys, 62, won 29 percent of the vote. *Fianna Fáil* candidate Jim Gavin, who withdrew from the campaign but remained on the ballot, took 7 percent.

The invalid vote rate was nearing 13 percent – a historic peak reflecting widespread frustration with limited choices. Turnout was estimated at around 40 percent of 3.6 million registered voters.

After the first counts, Connolly said she was very happy: “I want to thank everyone, including those who didn’t vote for me. I understand their concerns about who would best represent them.”