Opponents of Ukraine-EU Agreement say outcome of Dutch referendum 'cannot be ignored'

In a first reaction to the Dutch advisory referendum exit poll, claiming a convincing "no" to the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement, opponents called not to ignore this signal, despite the low voter turnout could make the referendum invalid.

"Democracy deserves to be congratulated," Thierry Baudet, chairman of the Forum voor Democratie (Forum for Democracy), prominent supporter of the "no" vote, said to national broadcaster NOS. "I am proud that two third of the electorate votes against the current European Union, because that is what this referendum was about. Let's start the discussion tomorrow."

After the polling stations closed at 9 p.m., poll agency Ipsos predicted a turnout of 29 percent, which would make the referendum invalid, but half an hour later the poll agency forecasted a turnout of 32 percent in a second exit poll, above the threshold of 30 percent. The percentage can still vary by 3 percent upwards or downwards, so the figures are not decisive yet.

The exit poll made clear that a majority voted against the Agreement, predicting 64 percent voting against the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement and 36 percent in favor of the deal.

"I am very happy that the difference is so clear," Emile Roemer, leader of the Socialist Party (SP), against the Agreement, said. "This result cannot be ignored, no matter what the turnout will be."

Alexander Pechtold, leader of D66 (Democrats), the only party that had actively campaigned for "yes", had hoped for a tighter competition between the "no" and "yes" voters. "This is a convincing no," he said to the NOS. "But based on the exit poll I do not want to draw conclusions yet."

"They have received significantly more votes than we have," Michiel van Hulten, representing Stem voor Nederland (Vote for the Netherlands), the main organization campaigning for a "yes", said. "My biggest concern is the turnout. One hopes that in a democracy people take part. We must ask ourselves why the turnout is so low."

Source: XINHUA