Resounding Spanish yes for EU constitution

SPANISH voters overwhelmingly endorsed the European Union constitution in a referendum yesterday - but turnout was only about 41%, an exit poll said.

A total of 78.5% of voters backed the constitution, while 16.2% voted against, according to the Ipsos-Eco Consulting poll carried on Spanish National Television. The survey said turnout for the non-binding vote was 41.5%.

Spain’s ruling Socialist Party claimed victory. “The European Constitution has won the referendum in Spain,” said Jose Blanco, a senior party official.

Spaniards tend to be unenthusiastic about EU voting, unless ballots coincide with a national election. In last June’s European Parliament elections, turnout was 45%, compared with more than 70% in the country’s general election three months earlier.

The document, approved by EU leaders in October, is designed to streamline decision-making as the bloc expands eastward, making it more efficient and giving it global clout on par with its economic might.

All 25 EU countries must ratify the constitution for it to take effect. Three have already done so through parliamentary votes, and Spain was the first of 10 to hold a referendum.

The document is likely to face stronger opposition in some of the other countries which will put it to a referendum, including Britain and France.

But even in traditionally Europhile Spain, few people understand the constitution. A poll released on February 10 indicated that nearly 90% of Spaniards know little to nothing about the constitution, despite a major advertising campaign aimed at explaining the document.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero cast his ballot in a Madrid suburb and urged other Spaniards to follow suit, saying the referendum “means opening the doors on a Europe that is more united and stronger”.

Mr Zapatero said Spanish approval would be a natural progression for a country that was a relative latecomer to what is now the EU and has benefited greatly from membership since 1986, in everything from aid funds to culture and science.