Survey: Czech Republic likely to have lowest turnout for EU constitution referendum

The Czech Republic is likely to have the lowest turnout of any European Union state holding a referendum on the EU constitution, according to research by the Eurobarometer polling agency. Only 19 percent of Czechs surveyed said they would vote. While a quarter of Czechs said they had never heard of the EU constitution, the number who had was - at 67 percent - higher than the average in the nine states due to hold referendums.

Prime Minister Stanislav Gross wants to hold the vote on the same day as the next general elections in 2006. But the opposition Civic Democrats are threatening to try to block the referendum if it is not held by the end of this year.