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M. Continuo

Slovak vote seeking to ban gay marriage likely to fail on low turnout


    PRAGUE (Reuters) - Slovak conservatives most likely failed to cement a ban on gay marriages and child adoptions in a referendum on Saturday because the vote failed to attract the minimum 50 percent of voters necessary to make it valid, partial results showed.

    Votes counted from 50.5 percent of the central European country's electoral districts showed turnout at just 19.28 percent, the statistics office said, far from the legal limit and below expectations.

    The EU member does not allow gay marriages or civil unions, nor adoptions by same-sex couples. The grassroots conservative movement that backed the referendum sought to strengthen those bans through a popular vote that would make it more difficult to change the legislation in the future.

    (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Dan Grebler)