Icelanders vote on resuming EU accession talks

Icelanders are voting today on whether to resume accession talks with the European Union, which have been suspended since 2013, mbl.is reports.

The ballot offers two options: yes or no. Icelandic citizens aged 18 or older who are domiciled in Iceland may vote, as may Icelandic citizens who have lived abroad for less than 16 years.

Polling stations open at 9am and generally remain open until 10pm. Further information is available at island.is and kosningar.is.

Strong turnout in early voting indicates considerable interest in the referendum. By Friday, 59,364 people had voted outside polling stations, more than one-fifth of the 272,690 people on the electoral register. It is the highest early-voting turnout ever recorded in Iceland.

The campaign has largely been led by the main yes and no movements, Já til að sjá and Áfram Ísland, along with Evrópuhreyfingin and Heimssýn. The leaders of the government parties have also taken part.

The campaign has included public meetings, advertising, social media material and media discussions. Opinion polls have shown a narrow margin for most of the campaign, with the race tied for a period. The no camp appeared to gain ground towards the end. In the latest Gallup poll, 51.6 percent said they intended to vote against resuming the talks, while 48.4 percent said they would vote in favour.

Morgunblaðið is also covering the background to the referendum with reports from the campaign in today’s newspaper.