Ireland's Catherine Connolly, an independent left-winger, was poised Saturday to become the country's new president after her only rival in the election conceded defeat, Irish national broadcaster RTE said.

Heather Humphreys, of the centrist Fine Gael party, congratulated Connolly on "becoming the next president of Ireland" after early counting showed the latter was on course for a landslide victory.

However, the election for the largely ceremonial role has been overshadowed by criticism that it lacked real choice, with tallies so far showing a record number of spoiled ballots and low turnout.