The Dutch began voting in their first national referendum yesterday, choosing whether to accept -- or more likely, reject -- a proposed EU constitution.
Recent polls have shown a majority approaching 60 percent will say no to the document. Following France's rejection of the charter on Sunday, a Dutch no would leave Europe's leaders with no clear backup plan for what to do when two of the 25-nation union's members say they won't approve the new ground rules.
Voting booths opened at 7:30am local time and were to close at 9pm.
"Let's not let ourselves be led by polls," Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said on Tuesday on the television program Netwerk, in a last-minute plea for a yes vote. "Let's hope that when they're in the voting booth, people think about all the people that say this constitution would be a positive development."
Supporters, including both Balkenende's conservative government and the main opposition Labor Party, say the constitution would streamline decision making in the union, and create a single foreign minister to give Europe more sway in international affairs.
"I think it's a good thing if there's a strong Europe," said Jaena Padberg, an early yes voter outside a busy voting station at a school in Amsterdam. "It's good that our rights will be be secured."
Opponents fear that the Netherlands, a nation of just 16 million, will be engulfed by a superstate headquartered in Brussels and dominated by Germany, France and Britain.
That could mean the end of liberal Dutch policies such as tolerating marijuana use, prostitution and euthanasia.
Still other voters will say no to voice their discontent with the unpopular Dutch government: many here are angry about price increases that followed the introduction of the euro in 2002, and some fear that Turkey will soon be admitted to the union, worsening tensions between Dutch Muslims and the non-Muslim majority.
"In other countries that are going to join human rights are not as well protected as they are here," said no voter Mika Gruschke.
"Things are going too fast," said no voter Maarten Pijnenburg. "There's not enough control over the power of European politicians" under the new constitution, he said.
Some analysts expect Dutch ``no'' voters to be emboldened by the outcome in France, since the Dutch will avoid the stigma of casting a lone veto.
But Peter Kanne, of the TNS Nipo polling agency, said the French "won't be a decisive factor" on the turnout.
"Mainly, people will do what they intended to do anyway," he said in a telephone interview.
TNS predicted 59 percent of Dutch will vote no, versus 55 percent in France.
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