JURIST - Paper Chase: Spain voting on EU constitution Sunday

[JURIST] Voters in Spain head to the polls Sunday to decide a national referendum on the European Constitution. Lithuania, Hungary and Slovenia have already ratified the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe [official text] in parliamentary votes, but eight additional states - including France, the UK, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Poland - are expected to hold referenda on the issue. While polls show that Spanish voters are likely to approve the European pact, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero [Wikipedia profile] is battling voter apathy and widespread ignorance of the contents of the constitutional treaty. A poll last month found that 51.2 percent of Spain's 34 million voters support the treaty, but 16.4 percent say they plan to abstain and more than a third of the electorate say they know nothing of the constitution and its 448 articles. All 25 EU member states must ratify before the constitution comes into force. The Washington Times has more. Visit the Spanish government's official website for the referendum campaign [in Spanish]. From Madrid, El Mundo has local coverage [in Spanish]. Spain's University of Zaragoza offers an historical perspctive on the EU constitutional process. The European Union provides additional factsheets, a summary of the Constitution, and a full review of ratifications and referenda.

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