AlQa'dah 29, 1434, Oct 5, 2013, SPA -- Turnout was low as Irish voters went yesterday to the polls for referendums on abolishing the upper legislative house and creating a new appeals court, UPI reported. Results were expected to be reported Saturday afternoon, The Irish Times said. Officials said only about one-third of eligible voters participated, although exact figures were not yet available. There were also reports that voters were confused by poorly drawn-up ballot papers. The papers mentioned the 32nd and 33rd amendments to the Constitution without describing the content of the amendments. The Seanad Eireann or Irish Senate was established in 1922 with the founding of the Free State and reconstituted in 1936. The body has almost no power and its members are selected in a variety of ways and not directly elected. Many distinguished Irish citizens have belonged to the Seanad, including poet William Butler Yeats. In the Free State, one goal of the Seanad was to give a voice to Ireland's Protestant minority. If the referendum is approved, the Seanad would be abolished after the next general election. Passage of the other referendum would create a new Court of Civil Appeal between the High Court and the Supreme Court.
