Spain: 60% of the citizens have not voted the European constitutional treaty

international | eu | opinion/analysis Monday February 21, 2005 16:04 by Me

The Spanish government considers the European constitutional treaty pass for the citizenship, in a day in which about 60% of the ones called to the urns did not exert the right to vote. With 93,54% of the scrutinized votes, 76,49% of the Spanish that voted told 'yes' to the text and 17,43% has been decanted for the 'not'. 6% of the ballot papers has been blank.

Since the affirmative vote corresponds at two thirds of the voters, and these are forty per cent of the census, the support to the Constitution would remain therefore established in three of every ten Spanish. The secretary of organization of the PSOE, José Blanco, valued this result stating that "the Spanish have given one yes in a major and unmistakable way to the European Constitution, that it means a firm step forward in the European project and that the percentage of participation was important since there was not confrontation between the two main parties since both defended the back to the Great Letter of the UE and there was not uncertainty on the final result?.

The governmental agency Efe stated that the 76,5 per cent of the Spanish backed up with their vote the European Constitution, something that it is not true because they forget 60% of citizens that has not said at all because they have not voted.

The level of abstention is the worst result of the Spanish democratic history. In the last European elections people arrived to 45% and even the referendum of this Sunday, was the most scarce percentage.

The circumstance is given of which the IF had asked it the two major parties, the major trade unions, the company organizations and the whole of the great media, in spite of what seven of every ten Spanish were not convinced.


On the other hand, the result of the vote was not binding since the government had already signed the treaty officially.