Sunshine prompts brisk start to Nice poll

Clear skies and bright sunshine prompted a brisk start to polling in today’s referendum on the Nice Treaty for European Union enlargement.

Ireland’s first nationwide Saturday voting date encouraged a steady stream of early electors at polling stations throughout the country.

Both sides in the plebiscite issue – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and all of the mainstream political parties favouring a 'Yes' vote and smaller groups opposed to the concept – claimed a big turnout would favour their cause.

Mr Ahern and other party bosses were among those to take advantage of the breakfast time start to the voting process by going early to their polling stations.

Opinion survey indications ahead of the referendum were that Mr Ahern would succeed in reversing last year’s shock move by the Irish electorate to turn down the Nice plan.

Then, 54% of the voters rejected the EU expansion scheme on a poll of less than 35%, but the Government and opposition groupings have gone all out this time to ensure a bigger poll response that they believe will swing the issue their way.

The referendum enabled voters in seven of the 42 constituencies to make their choice electronically.

In those divisions, the counting of votes was set to begin minutes after the 12-hours of voting ended at 9pm tonight.

That should permit an indication of how the contest has gone to become available in the early hours of tomorrow morning.