EU nations go to polls on the last day of European Parliament elections, in a vote plighted by fears of record low turnouts and gains for extremists.

Nineteen member-states from the 27-nation bloc, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, are due to cast the ballots on Europe's Super Sunday. Polls will close across the European Union at 2000 GMT Sunday.

The marathon polls opened in the United Kingdom, and Netherlands on Thursday. The UK held local elections on the same day that placed ruling Labour Party behind opposition Conservatives with the loss of 272 seats.

The Dutch far-right and anti-Islamic lawmaker Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom scored a second place in its debut at the EU polls, with 17 percent of the vote on Thursday.

The four-seat victory, which was published ahead of schedule despite a ban, justified European experts' alarm over a stepping closer to extremism amid an economic crisis and rising unemployment.

Opinion polls have also painted a gloomy picture of the outcomes, predicting poor turnouts that would allow extreme left- and right-wing formations to gain strength in the new 736-seat assembly.

Turnout has slid downhill with each EU election since the first in 1979, with only 45% of eligible electors exercising their right to vote in 2004.

This year, the turnout is expected to break that record low, as in some countries like the Czech Republic only 19 percent of the eligible cast their ballot.

ZHD/MMN