Lithuanians vote against nuclear plant

Lithuanians voted to reject the construction of a proposed nuclear power plant in a referendum alongside parliamentary elections, officials said Monday. The Central Elections Committee said 64.87 percent of voters voted against the plant while 35.31 supported it. Total voter turnout Sunday was 50.13 percent, and for the results of a referendum to be valid, 50 percent of voters must vote, RIA Novosti reported. Laura Gumulyauskene, deputy chair of the Central Elections Committee, said "not all the voters who took part in the parliamentary election voted in the referendum, which is why it is unclear if the results of the referendum can be accepted or not." The Lithuanian parliament planned to build the power plant along the Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia, RIA Novosti reported.