Reuters —
The “yes” camp held a slim majority early on Sunday in partial results of Iceland’s referendum on whether to start accession talks with the European Union, according to the RUV broadcaster.
Based on the first 87,000 votes counted of the 270,000 voters eligible, some 51.2% supported the government’s proposal to restart negotiations, while 48.8% said no, RUV said. There was no information available on turnout.
A reliable result might not be available until midday on Sunday, election officials said. Voting ended at 10 p.m. (2200 GMT), kicking off a complex operation to bring ballots from towns and rural polling stations by plane, boat or car.
On Friday, a Gallup poll suggested a narrow majority opposed the government’s proposal of reopening negotiations, a slight shift from earlier surveys that pointed to a narrow lead for supporters of renewed talks.
