Nice abstention blamed on 'lack of information'

A new European Commission survey on Irish voting behaviour blames the extraordinary high level of abstention in the Nice referendum on a lack of information and a lack of understanding of the issues.

The survey found that 44 per cent of those who abstained from voting complained of not being adequately informed of the issues. This compares with 25 per cent in the Amsterdam referendum.

It appears that more that half of those who voted "yes" to Amsterdam voted "no" to Nice.

On the "no" side the predominant characteristic of the voters' decision process was a feeling of not being adequately on top of the issues and a tendency to follow the maxim "if you don't know vote 'no'".

No voters also complained of being dissatisfied with the way in which policies and decisions are made within the European Union.

The survey found those who voted ‘Yes’ were motivated by "a general belief in European integration or in Irish membership of the Union and in the desirability of enlargement".

The Taoiseach today claimed the findings of the survey support the Government view that there is a need for more information to be made available on Ireland’s relationship with the European Union.

Mr Ahern said: "I am particularly pleased that so many Irish people favour enlargement of the European Union. However the fact that so many abstained on June 7th and that the sources of information during the referendum were found to be unsatisfactory are causes of grave concern."

In its conclusion the survey was critical of the campaign in general which it said "failed to contribute to mobilising participation and, by implication, failed to enable electors to clarify their minds on the issues."

On a more general note the survey found that because turnout in European referendums in Ireland has varied from a high of 70.9 per cent (1972) to a low of 35.4 per cent (2001), the actual growth in the size of the 'no' camp as a proportion of the electorate is much more modest than the 2001 result in particular might seem to suggest.

It says the 'no' vote in European referendums as a proportion of the whole electorate has grown from 11.9 per cent in 1972 to 21 per cent in 1998.

In the Nice referendum of June 2001, the 'no' vote, again as a proportion of the electorate, actually fell back to 18.5 per cent.