Latvians said 'yes' to EU entry

With more than 80 percent of the country's 1,006 polling districts counted, 69.5 percent had voted in favor, according to the Central Election Commission. A beaming, elated Prime Minister Einars Repse congratulated some 2,000 cheering young people at an old town square in Riga Sunday -- waving and donning a blue EU T-shirt, The Associated Press reports. More than 70 percent of the country's 1.4 million eligible voters cast ballots. The referendum was the last held by the 10 candidate countries seeking EU membership. Proponents called it a decision to cement the former Soviet republic's ties to the West.