Irish PM calls May 24 general election

DUBLIN, Apr 29 (Reuters) Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern set the clock running today for a general election on May 24 by asking President Mary McAleese to dissolve parliament.

''President McAleese has dissolved the 29th Dail (parliament) this morning,'' McAleese's office said in a statement.

Under Irish electoral rules a general election must be held within 30 days of the dissolution of parliament and Ahern, who is nearing the end of his second, five-year term in office, said he had opted for May 24.

''Once again, the moment has arrived for the people to decide Ireland's future,'' he said in a statement.

Ahern, 55, the country's youngest prime minister when first elected in 1997, is bidding to become the first to win a third consecutive term.

Recent opinion polls suggest, however, a victory for Ahern and his junior coalition partner, the business-friendly Progressive Democrats, is not a foregone conclusion despite rapid economic growth during their 10 years in power.

Ahern had been widely expected to go to the polls in May although calling it yesterday took many by surprise after media reports he would name the day early next week.

REUTERS KK PM1528