Partial results show 60 per cent ‘No’; Greece to stick with Euro
Supporters of the ‘No' vote dance at Syntagma square in Athens, on Sunday. (Photo: AP)
Athens: Greeks voted overwhelmingly “No” on Sunday in a historic referendum, partial results showed, defying warnings from across Europe that rejecting new austerity terms for fresh financial aid would set their country on a path out of the euro.
With nearly 20 per cent of the votes counted, official figures showed 60.4 per cent of Greeks on course to reject a bailout offer from creditors that was the official issue of the ballot. The figures showed the Yes vote drew 39.6 per cent. An official projection of the final result is expected at 6 pm GMT (11.30 IST). According to London’s The Guardian, Greece’s interior ministry has released an official projection, showing that the no side is set to win by 61 per cent.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had lobbied for a “No” result, arguing it would strengthen its hand in negotiations with international creditors. But EU leaders have warned a ‘No’ vote could push Greece on the path to “Grexit” — crashing out of the eurozone. However, Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, had slammed Athens’s creditors for raising the spectre of Grexit, pointing out that no legal mechanism exists to force a Grexit.
Euclid Tsakalotos, Greece’s coordinator of negotiations with creditors, said that Greece is not thinking about issuing a parallel currency. “We are not discussing a parallel currency. I do not think that they are going to throw us out. We are ready to meet them as early as tonight,” he said, before votes were counted.
If confirmed, the ‘No’ vote would also deliver a hammer blow to the European Union’s grand single currency project. Intended to be permanent and unbreakable when it was created 15 years ago, the euro zone could now be on the point of losing its first member with the risk of further unraveling to come. In Brussels, EU officials said there would be no comment until the final results are announced.
First indications were that any joint European political response may take a couple of days. French President Francois Hollande will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris on Monday night to discuss the outcome of referendum. The European Commission, the EU executive, meets in Strasbourg on Tuesday and will report to the European Parliament on the situation.
( Source : agencies )
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