Czechs Lead EU States in Historic Vote

12/06/2004| IslamWeb

The Czechs became the first people from behind the old "Iron Curtain" to vote in a European Parliament election yesterday, as the continent where democracy was born staged the biggest ballot in its history. Vaclav Havel, the ailing playwright and statesman who led the Czech Republic from communism to the brink of European Union membership, was among the first to vote."It's the very first election in history when we share in a decision about the future of our continent," he said after posting his ballot. "This is a very important election because our fates are more and more linked with the whole of Europe. Now we have a chance ourselves to influence the development of history."Of the 10 states which joined the EU just six weeks ago, the Czech Republic is the only one voting yesterday. The Latvians and Maltese will cast their first European votes today, when the Czechs continue voting, while the other seven new countries will join most of the bloc in voting tomorrow. Polls were also open in Ireland, where voters face an additional referendum which has sparked a debate about race and immigration, highlighting the tensions the EU faces as it expands eastwards and tries to protect its borders.