Voters head to polls in presidential election

AFP - Irish voters headed to the polls Thursday to choose a new president, with frontrunner Sean Gallagher reeling from a "dirty tricks" campaign mounted by former IRA commander Martin McGuinness.

More than 3.1 million adults were entitled to vote, with the winner handed the ceremonial role of representing Ireland around the world as the republic tries to overcome its economic woes.

The final polls at the weekend showed Gallagher, a businessman turned television personality who is standing as an independent, with a clear lead on 40 percent, but his advantage in danger over a row about party donations.

McGuinness, the former paramilitary who became Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, alleged in a potentially game-changing TV debate that Gallagher had accepted a donation from a convicted fuel smuggler for his former party.

Gallagher accused McGuinness of dirty tricks over the allegations of the 5,000-euro ($6,950) cheque.

Leading bookmaker Paddy Power said the allegations could have had a disastrous effect on Gallagher, and have installed Michael D. Higgins, a 70-year-old poet and former arts minister, as the new favourite.

Higgins, representing Labour, the junior coalition partners, had been polling just 15 percent on Monday.

Gallagher has spent the week angrily refuting McGuinness' accusations of wrongdoing.

"I stand over everything I have done as being impeccable with honesty and integrity. I refute any allegations," he told RTE radio.

"My view will not be diverted by tactics such as political assassination by Martin McGuinness or anyone else in Sinn Fein."

McGuinness' impact on the election could also be felt in the Irish Independent newspaper which on election day urged voters not to vote for him.

"There is one candidate who has failed to be in any way honest with the electorate he wishes to represent and therefore does not deserve an endorsement at the ballot box," it said in an editorial.

"From the off, (he) has lied about his role in the IRA and has been consistently ambiguous in his condemnation of atrocities carried out by the Provisional IRA thoughout the Troubles."

Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and were to close at 10:00 pm (2100 GMT).

Seven candidates are standing, the largest ever field, to succeed Belfast-born Mary McAleese.

In the rest of the field, independent senator David Norris, the first openly gay candidate, was on eight percent, and Gabriel Mitchell, a European Parliament lawmaker for Ireland's Fine Gael senior governing coalition party, on six percent.

Two other independents, Mary Davis and 1970 Eurovision Song Contest winner Dana Rosemary Scallon, were locked at three percent.

The winner of the seven-year post is responsible for representing the republic, receiving foreign heads of state and making visits abroad to promote Irish interests and strengthen links with the large global diaspora.

Two referendums are also being held to amend Ireland's 1937 constitution and a by-election in the Dublin West constituency to fill a seat left vacant by the death of former finance minister Brian Lenihan.

Voter trends show most people cast their ballots in the evening.

The ballot boxes will be opened on Friday morning, though the result will probably not be known before Saturday due to the complexities of the voting system.

The single transferable vote system is used, whereby voters rank their choices. Candidates are eliminated one by one and their votes redistributed until one has an absolute majority.