00:02Iceland's capital Reykjavik recorded a higher voter turnout in the high-stakes EU referendum by noon
00:08than at the same time during the country's parliamentary elections in 2024,
00:12preliminary figures showed on Saturday.
00:16In the hours after voters began casting their ballots in the referendum that will determine
00:21whether to reopen EU accession talks, 13.7 percent had voted by noon in the Reykjavik
00:26North constituency, compared to just over 10 percent in the 2024 election.
00:32In Reykjavik's South, just over 14 percent had voted by noon, compared to just over 11 percent for the parliamentary
00:39election.
00:40A close race is expected, with a final poll on Friday indicating 50.4 percent of voters plan to vote
00:47yes and 49.6 percent no.
00:50A yes vote would trigger renewed negotiations with the European Commission,
00:54covering 35 areas, from the economy to human rights.
00:59The result of the vote will be followed closely by the EU,
01:02which has not welcomed a wealthy net contributor to its budget since 1995.
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