(12 Oct 2008)
1. Wide of Ignalina nuclear power plant at the lake Druksiai
2. Close up of nuclear reactors
3. Close up of EU flag
4. Wide pan of plant
5. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Vladimir Tartilov, medical department representative from Ignalina nuclear power plant:
"I think they shouldn't close it, we need to wait until a new unit is built Only then can it be closed if it's necessary because Lithuania doesn't have anything in terms of energy, it buys everything."
6. Mid of reactor
7. Wide of reactors
8. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Grigory Zizov, technician at Ignalina nuclear power plant:
"A large amount of money was invested into the security of this power plant. Almost all offices were renovated, so it's very strange that after so much money was invested it should be closed anyway."
9. Mid of main entrance
10. Close up of reactor
11. Mid of reactors
STORYLINE:
With voting in Lithuanian parliamentary elections underway, a referendum on whether to keep a Soviet-era nuclear plan beyond its scheduled closure has seen recent support from all major parties as well as 70 percent of Lithuanians.
Lithuania's 2.6 (m) million registered voters will be asked on Sunday whether the Baltic state should postpone closing a Chernobyl-style nuclear plant in Ignalina slated for shutdown in December 2009.
The plant's design flaws scare EU members, who insist that it be closed, while Lithuanians claim that shutting down the unit, which gives them energy independence, will leave them subject to the whims of Russia, an unreliable energy supplier.
One recent poll indicated more than 70 percent of Lithuanians support a postponement of the plant's closure.
One plant employee said on Sunday that Lithuanians are dependent on it as a source of energy, and it should remain open.
A technician, meanwhile, said it would not make sense to shut it down as a lot of money was invested in security and renovation.
All major parties in Lithuania favour extending the life of the plant.
Though the referendum is non-binding - organisers call it "consultative" - it is expected to draw out Lithuania's usually apathetic voters.
Lithuanians are also voting in parliamentary elections in which two populist parties appeared poised for a strong showing and could usher in a governing coalition aligned more toward Russia than Europe.
The governing Social Democrats, who have held the post of prime minister since 2001, are down in the polls and will struggle to pass the five percent barrier needed to make it into the Baltic state's 141-member Seimas, or parliament.
A poll published September 25 of 1,001 voters by Lietuvos Rytas, the country's top daily, showed that Rolandas Paksas' Order and Justice and Viktor Uspaskich's Labor Party parties could each grab up to 20 percent of the votes, while the right-wing Fatherland Union, a ferocious rival to both parties, can expect 12 percent.
Twenty percent of voters were undecided. The margin of error was 3 percent.
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