LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - First partial results showed Luxembourg voters leaning towards backing the European Union's troubled constitution in a referendum on Sunday.
By 1311 GMT (2:11 British time), results from 21 percent of constituencies showed 57.7 percent backed the charter while 42.3 percent opposed, according to the government's official website.
The results are not yet representative, because they do not include the outcome of the key constituencies of les Villes de Luxembourg and d'Esch-sur-Alzette, which are expected around 4:00 pm (1400 GMT).
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also chairs the group of countries sharing the euro, has said he will quit if the charter is rejected, a move aimed at reversing gains of the "No" camp in the traditionally pro-EU small Duchy.
The last opinion poll on June 9 showed support for the constitution, designed to make EU decision-making more efficient after the bloc's enlargement last year, declined to 55 percent from 59 percent in May while opposition rose to 45 percent.
Juncker has said that a "Yes" in Luxembourg would offer a glimmer of hope for the constitution after it was resoundingly rejected in French and Dutch referendums, but most diplomats believe the charter is already dead.
The charter cannot go ahead unless it is ratified by all 25 member states, either in a referendum or parliamentary vote.
The June EU summit decided on a long period of reflection on the constitution after the two failed referendums, prompting some member states to suspend the treaty's ratification process.
Voting stations closed at 2:00 p.m. in Luxembourg, the Grand Duchy sandwiched between Germany, France and Belgium with a population of 465,000.
So far, 12 EU members have ratified the constitution.
Luxembourg is Europe's richest country in terms of gross domestic product per head -- 52,600 euros a year, twice that of Germany and France -- thanks to its flourishing banking sector.
A deeply Catholic country, the prospect of Muslim Turkey joining the EU has been used by the "No" campaigners in the same way as by the right in the French and Dutch referendums.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-07-10T143148Z_01_MOL052275_RTRUKOC_0_EU-LUXEMBOURG.xml
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