Counting to get underway this morning in Letterkenny and Sligo

The counting of ballot papers for the Presidential Election and Constitutional Referendum is to get under way this morning at 9am in Letterkenny and in Sligo for the Sligo Leitrim Constituency where south Donegal votes are included.

Papers were taken under garda escort from polling booths across Donegal and Sligo/Leitrim overnight in readiness for the count to begin this morning.

Count centre staff will first sort and collate the ballot papers into two separate piles – green for the referendum, and white for the Presidential vote.

As there are two separate votes, the process to split the ballot papers could take until lunchtime when the count proper gets underway.

However, tallies will provide early indications as to how various parts of Donegal have voted in both polls.

The results for each constituency will only be announced once they have been ratified by the national returning officer.

An RTÉ exit poll released just after 10pm last night suggested incumbent President Michael D Higgins is on course for comfortable re-election. This was backed up by a number of similar exit polls, which also showed that Peter Casey - whose comments on Travellers caused controversy - is set to come in second place. Sinn Fein’s Liadh Ni Riada looks likely to come in third, with Joan Freeman and Sean Gallagher further back. In the immediate aftermath of the exit poll which put him in last place, Gavin Duffy conceded defeat.

Meanwhile, it looks like a majority of 71% of people have voted to back the removal of blasphemy from the Constitution.