(DUBLIN) - Ireland's main political parties, which all backed the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, failed to persuade their workers to go out in force and mobilise support, a poll suggested Sunday.

Less than 10 percent of voters were contacted in person by party canvassers to urge them to vote "yes" according to the Sunday Business Post/Red C poll. "This speaks volumes about the nature of the campaigns that the parties ran. It seems difficult to maintain that the government or the other parties on the 'yes' side went all-out to secure a victory," the newspaper said.

Normally in an Irish election, party canvassers contact more than 50 percent of voters in person seeking their support.

Ireland, the only EU state constitutionally obliged to hold a referendum on the charter, rejected the treaty by 53.4 percent, throwing the bloc into crisis, as it must be ratified by all 27 member states to come into force.

The issue dominated a summit in Brussels last week and EU leaders are now expecting Prime Minister Brian Cowen to report back in October on what he thinks the best options are for the reform treaty.

The poll shows that in the referendum campaign, although the main parties with a combined support of 85 percent supported the treaty, just nine percent of voters were contacted in person by the "yes" side.

The "no" side reached eight percent. A small group was contacted by both sides (three percent), but a massive 86 percent were not contacted at all.

The newspaper says the poll finding is "about a basic political failure: political machines did not go out and ask people for their votes".

The poll shows that campaigners against the treaty were successful in raising concerns that a "yes" vote could change areas like Ireland's traditional policy of military neutrality or its ban on abortion.

The poll was carried out in association with an academic project in Trinity College, Dublin; Queens University, Belfast; and Britain's Nottingham University.

It was conducted among more than 1,000 voters last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

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