Mogelijk uitstel voor Portugees referendum over Europese grondwet (en)

A referendum in Portugal on the European Constitution may be delayed because of the call for general elections to be held on 20 February.

Last month President Jorge Sampaio decided to dissolve parliament because he had lost confidence in the centre-right government of Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes, prompting general elections.

But the Portuguese Constitution forbids the scheduling of any referendum "between the date of calling for, and the realisation of, general elections", according to Diário de Notícias.

Portugal was to vote on the Constitution in March or April but now it is likely to be the end of April before a poll can take place - Spain will be the first country to hold a referendum on the Constitution (20 February).

The wording of the referendum question is also uncertain. The Portuguese constitutional court is set to rule this week whether a proposed question is in line with the Portuguese Constitution.

A majority in the out-going parliament had suggested the following question: "Do you agree with the Chart of Fundamental Rights, the rule of qualified majority voting and the new institutional framework of the EU, as defined by the European Constitution?"

Portuguese opinion formers on the left and on the right have protested against the wording, which they consider too long.

According to an online poll organised by Público, 51 per cent of 3000 voters said they did not understand the question.

In addition, the Portuguese have come out in recent EU studies as "the least informed" Europeans on the issue of the European Constitution.

A Eurobarometer study published last week (10 December) showed that at large number of interviewees did not feel able to take a view on the Constitution.

"That is the case in particular in Portugal, notwithstanding the fact that Portugal will be one of the first countries to organise a referendum in 2005," the Commission sponsored survey concluded.

A lack of informed opinion was also found in Latvia, Ireland, Estonia and Sweden.