PRAGUE, June 14: A clear 77.3 per cent majority voted for Czech membership of the European Union in the two-day referendum which ended Saturday, according to provisional results with 99.8 per cent of votes counted.

With a turnout of 55.2 per cent, just 22.7 had voted No, the Prague Statistics Office said. The provisional official result of the referendum was due to be issued later Saturday.

Voter turnout picked up Saturday, with some districts registering 40 to 50 per cent turnout by mid-morning. Around 57 per cent of the electorate took part in the referendum, the first in Czech history.

Members of the Czech government were jubilant at the result. Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla spoke of a “historical moment” and thanked those who voted while Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda spoke of “a result for all Czechs.”

The European Commission also thanked the Czech electorate for voting Yes. “The Czech Republic takes the place it was always entitled to,” said the Commission’s representative in Prague, Ramiro Cibrian.

Among the first voters had been President Vaclav Klaus, who has been lukewarm about jointing the EU and refused to say how he had voted, and his predecessor Vaclav Havel, who openly campaigned for admission.—dpa