REYKJAVIK – Icelanders voted against resuming negotiations on the country's accession to the European Union in a referendum held Saturday, according to local media on Sunday.

Polling stations opened at 9 am local time on Saturday and closed at 10 pm. Nearly a quarter of voters had already cast ballots in advance, according to Icelandic public broadcaster RUV.

A Gallup poll released on Thursday put the "No" camp narrowly ahead, with 51.6 percent opposed to restarting negotiations and 48.4 percent in favor. The difference was not statistically significant.