Polling stations have begun opening across Iceland as voters take part in a referendum on whether the country should resume negotiations to join the European Union (EU), Anadolu reports.
Polling stations opened at 9:00 a.m. local time, although voting hours are expected to vary in some constituencies. Voting will continue until the evening.
Around 400,000 Icelanders are expected to vote on whether negotiations for EU membership should be resumed, with preliminary results expected late Saturday evening or in the early hours of Sunday.
The referendum is not a vote on EU membership itself. A majority “Yes” vote would authorize the government to resume negotiations. However, any eventual agreement would be subject to a second referendum.
A poll conducted by Maskina and published earlier this week showed a narrow lead for the “Yes” camp, with 51.3 percent in favor and 48.7 percent opposed. An earlier Gallup poll showed both sides tied at 46 percent, while 8 percent remained undecided.
Another poll, cited by the European Policy Centre (EPC), found that 54 percent were opposed to EU membership, while 46 percent supported it.
Iceland applied to join the EU in 2009 after its banking system collapsed during the global financial crisis.
Negotiations began in 2010 but were suspended three years later after a Eurosceptic government came to power. In 2015, Reykjavík informed Brussels that it no longer wished to be considered a candidate country.
The European Commission maintains that Iceland’s application remains legally valid and that the negotiations are only suspended, according to an EPC report.
