Few vote, but Slovakia says 'yes' to joining EU

Almost all those who voted in Slovakia's weekend referendum on EU entry gave a resounding "yes", but only a bare majority turned out to cast their ballots, official results released yesterday showed.

Just over two million people voted in the two-day poll, or 52.15 per cent of the electorate, slightly above the 50 per cent threshold needed to make the vote valid, referendum committee chairman Julius Fodor told a news conference.

Fodor said nearly 93 per cent of those who voted approved joining the bloc in May 2004.

With the result, Slovakia becomes the fifth EU candidate to approve accession through a referendum after Hungary, Malta, Lithuania and Slovenia.

"Fifty-two per cent turnout is definitely lower than many of us wished for or expected," said parliamentary chairman Pavol Hrusovsky.

The result is the highest approval rating given yet to joining an enlarged European Union in May 2004, and markets, especially the crown currency, are expected to see a sharp boost when trading opens today.

But the low turnout made for some tense moments on Saturday as officials fretted over whether the referendum would be valid.

Even though the turnout met the legal requirements, the voter apathy is an embarrassment for the pro-reform government of Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, who has pushed hard for accession.

"It is a complex issue. We cannot blame only the government campaign on the low turnout and the structure of those who participated," Dzurinda told a news conference.

Coming barely a month after only 46 per cent of voters cast their ballots in neighbouring Hungary's referendum, analysts said the results showed the campaign failed to explain to many Slovaks why joining the European Union is in their interests.

"The low turnout is not about weak support to join the Union, it is about the failure of politicians to mobilise people," said Grigory Meseznikov, head of the independent IVO thinktank.

"The campaign was too general and never translated into how it would actually affect real people in their everyday lives."