LONDON (AP) — Irish President Michael Higgins dissolved Parliament Friday, paving the way for elections on Nov. 29 that will determine who controls the government.

Prime Minister Simon Harris, who had until March to call an election, announced the date on Wednesday.

A historic coalition government led by Harris’ center-right Fine Gael party and its center-left rival Fianna Fail has been in power since The 2020 race ended in a virtual stalemate.

“We didn’t agree on every issue, but we always worked hard and together for the good of the Irish people,” Harris said. “The time has come to ask the Irish people for a new mandate.”

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, originating from opposing sides in the Irish Civil War of the 1920s, shared a largely centrist vision and had alternated in power to govern Ireland over the decades. The two men put aside their differences in 2020 to work together, making the Green Party a junior partner.

The left-wing nationalist party Sinn Fein won the largest share of the vote in the election, but was unsuccessful. excluded from government because he could not muster enough support to govern. Sinn Fein has been shunned by centrist parties because of its historic links to separatist Irish Republican Army activists and decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin served as prime minister for the first half of the term and was replaced by Fine Gael’s Leo Varadkar in December 2022.

Harris took over when Varadkar resigned earlier this year.

Ireland has faced many of the same challenges as other countries since its last election: the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption from the war in Ukraine and a influx of migrants from abroad.

Martin said the next five years would be difficult for the Irish economy, highlighting the impact of global conflicts and a potential shift in US trade policy.

“The biggest threat to the Irish economy is external, and we need experience and leadership that has already demonstrated its ability to withstand significant events and shocks to guide us through the next five difficult years ” said Martin.

Harris said the coalition has protected people during the coronavirus, supported Ukraine in its war and overcome the cost of living crisis.

Housing, immigration and child care are among the top issues facing voters, he said.

He said he was happy that the government had set aside funds to deal with possible future trade shocks.

“We were ridiculed for it,” Harris said. “This is exactly why we have the buffer that exists. In the event of a transatlantic shock or any other shock to our economy, my children will never have to endure the austerity that our generation experienced.”

In 2010, Ireland faced national bankruptcy due to the cost of rescuing its failed banks. The country adopted an austerity program as a condition of an international bailout, but rebounded strongly after leaving the bailout in 2013.