MADRID, Feb. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Spaniards went to polling stations on Sunday to vote on the proposed constitution of the European Union (EU), which makes Spain the first member of the bloc to holda referendum on the fate of the document.

    Polling stations opened at 9: 00 a.m. (0800 GMT) with nearly 35million voters eligible to answer the question: "Do you approve the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe?"

    A "yes" vote is expected to dominate the poll with both the ruling Socialists and the conservative opposition Popular Party supporting the "yes" vote.

    To ensure a smooth vote, the Spanish government has mobilized 106,000 police to fend off potential violence from the armed Basque separatist group ETA.

    The constitution, which was designed to modernize the bloc's unwieldy institutions following entries of 10 new members last May, must receive unanimous ratification from all of its 25 members in order to become effective.

    Supporters of the document hope a high turnout in a convincing vote here would help dampen the "no" cries from opposing countries such as Britain and France.

    According to the latest surveys by state pollster CIS, around 51 percent of Spaniards would vote in favor. Only 6 percent would vote negative.

    Of those polled, 46 percent said they would almost certainly vote and 22 percent said they would probably vote. It has been estimated that a turnout of 40 percent would satisfy government and EU officials.

    Although almost half of the investigated promised to vote, few in the country know what changes the constitution is going to bring about. The CIS poll said about 90 percent of Spaniards actually had little knowledge of the 350-page document agreed after four years of tortuous negotiations. Enditem