Low turnout seen in Hungary referendum on EU refugee quotas
Hungarians were voting Sunday in a referendum called by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government to bolster its opposition to any future, mandatory European Union quotas for accepting relocated asylum seekers.
The government's position is expected to find wide support among voters, but 90 minutes before voting stations were to close, analysts forecast the ballot would be invalid because voter turnout would likely fail to exceed the 50-percent-plus-one vote necessary threshold.
Nearly 8.3 million citizens were eligible to cast ballots between 6 am and 7 pm (0400-1700 GMT) on Sunday. Turnout had reached 39.9 percent by 5:30 pm (1530 GMT), the National Election Office said.
Based on that figure, analysts at the Political Capital research and consultancy institute projected final turnout between 43.9 and 45.9 percent.
The referendum asks, "Do you want the European Union to be able to prescribe the mandatory settlement of non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary even without the consent of Parliament?"
