Dutch start voting on EU constitution
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-01 14:00

The Dutch began voting on Wednesday in a referendum that opinion polls say is set to deliver a second resounding "No" to the European constitution after France rejected it on Sunday.

Polling stations opened at 0530 GMT for the more than 12 million Dutch eligible to vote.

Polls close at 1900 GMT, when a national exit poll will be published; interim results with about half the vote counted are expected at around 2000 GMT, with a final outcome due at 2400 GMT.

Most mainstream Dutch parties -- including the center-right government -- have campaigned for a "Yes" vote, but voter surveys point to a solid "No" majority, with opposition rising in most surveys since the French delivered their verdict.

A second rejection would deliver a heavy blow to EU leaders' hopes of streamlining decisions in an expanded bloc and could weigh on the euro. But any domestic fallout from a Dutch "No" is expected to be limited, unlike the French "Non," which led to the prime minister's exit.

Support for the European Union in the Netherlands -- like France one of the founding members in the 1950s -- has traditionally been strong, but growing political and social problems and anti-immigrant sentiment has undermined it in recent years.

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