Updated | Midday turnout at 32% is comparable to 2014

The turnout for the European Parliament election at the half way mark is comparable to that of five years ago, according to the Electoral Commission.

The commission confirmed that the turnout for the EP election was 32% by 2pm. The official communication was disseminated very late, just after 7pm and contained no breakdown of turnouts by district.

The turnout for local council elections was 27.6%.

Polling stations opened at 7am and are set to close at 10pm.

Five years ago, the 2pm turnout was 33.8%, with the final turnout hitting 74.8%.

The number of eligible voters for the European election stands at 332,888 after 10% of people failed to pick up their voting document by Thursday midnight.

In the 2017 general election the 2pm turnout stood at 52%.