Higher turnout predicted as county goes to polls for Lisbon II

Almost 130,000 Meath residents are entitled to vote when the country goes to the polls on Friday in the second Lisbon Treaty referendum. There are 232 polling stations around the county, which will cater for 69,482 voters in the two constituencies of Meath East and 59,079 in Meath West. The polling stations open at 7am on Friday morning and will remain open until 10pm that night. Voters are asked to bring along their polling cards and some other form of identification. Counting of votes in the referendum take place in two venues in Meath on Saturday. The votes cast in Meath West will be counted in Trim GAA centre, while the count for Meath East will take place in Claremont Stadium in Navan. Counting starts in both centres at 9am. A staff of 60 will count the votes in each venue and up to 10 security staff will also be on duty in both centres. Returning Officer, Ms Mary O'Malley, said that staff in the count centres in Meath would have to fax the result through to the national count centre in Dublin, before they can announce the result in the Meath constituencies. In the referendum of June last year, voters in Meath East bucked the national trend by voting in favour of the treaty with 50.94 per cent voting 'Yes'. In Meath West, however, there was a 55.52 per cent 'No' vote. The turnout on that occasion was 51.88 per cent in Meath West and 50.65 in Meath East. Peter Cassells of Meath for Europe predicted that the turnout would be higher this time than in 2008. "On this occasion, people seem to be more engaged and seem to have a clearer understanding of the treaty," he said. "Given the concerns around the state of the economy, people are also attaching more importance to this decision." Mr Cassells said that the 'Yes' campaign had been experiencing a more positive reaction than in 2008 and he believed the majority would vote in favour of the treaty, but there would be a sizeable 'No' vote. However, Sinn Fein's Cllr Peadar Tóibín said there was a palpable momentum behind the 'No' campaign at the moment. "The national opinion polls are reflecting what we are seeing on the doo step - that the 'No' side is gaining ground. From the feedback that we are receiving on the doors, the 'No' side is already ahead in parts of the Meath," he claimed.