Weather break swells vote turn-out

An improvement in the weather tonight may have prevented the country's latest abortion referendum recording one of the lowest-ever turnouts of voters for a nationwide constitutional poll.

High winds and heavy rain that deterred electors in the opening hours of the vote relented near the end of the day, sparking a late rush to decide on the future of Ireland’s anti-abortion laws.

The anticipated response to the third referendum on the controversial issue in less than 20 years looked set to at least match the 35% in last year’s vote on European Union treaty expansion plans, when the Nice Treaty was rejected in an embarrassing decision for the Government.

But it also seemed certain to fall well short of the figures of 68% in 1992 and 54% 11 years earlier.

This time, the almost three million-strong electorate was being asked to vote on a Government proposal to confirm the written constitutional barrier to terminations, except in cases where the life of a mother is considered to be at risk, but ruling out the threat of suicide as a reason for abortion.

Tonight referendum officials said the number of people arriving at polling stations had picked up appreciably, particularly in high-population areas such as Dublin, after an exceptionally slow start because of the bad weather.

Many of the 41 parliamentary constituencies reported only a trickle of voters in the early stages of the referendum, with the position particularly bad in exposed west of Ireland areas.

In some of the region’s polling stations, the turnout percentage was struggling to get into double figures at one stage.

Taoiseach Minister Bertie Ahern, Tanaiste Mary Harney and other party leaders all called for people to come out and vote when they made their choices in their own constituencies.

The latest plebiscite is Ireland’s third on the contentious abortion issue.

The first, in 1983, confirmed an existing written Irish legal barrier to terminations by writing it into the constitution.

But the situation thrown up then was left confused following a 1992 ruling by Ireland’s Supreme Court that permitted a pregnant 14-year-old schoolgirl to go to Britain for an abortion.

A new referendum failed then to clarify matters, and today’s vote marked a further bid to resolve the legal position.

The fresh proposal had the backing of both parties in Mr Ahern’s coalition Government, but the Opposition urged a negative response to the plan on the grounds that it was unfair to women.

A number of internal splits on the issue were exposed in the course of the campaign, though, particularly among anti-abortion pro-life activists, some advocating a Yes vote, but others taking the opposite view.

Opinion polls indicated a late narrowing support in favour of the Government proposal, but a big don’t-know factor pointed to a very close outcome.

The count begins tomorrow and final figures should be confirmed late in the afternoon, although signals may emerge earlier.

:: Almost all of the 251 listed electors in the Bonane division of Co Kerry boycotted the referendum to protest at the moving of their polling station out of the small village to a new location 10 miles away.