Headlines
'NO' leads by 61 percent in Greek referendum
Athens, July 6
"NO" led by 61 percent of votes
against 39 percent for YES in crucial Greek referendum on the debt deal
creditors' have submitted, according to the first official estimate
released by the Interior Ministry with about 20 percent of votes
counted.
Turnout in Sunday's referendum that might decide whether
Greece would stave off an imminent disorderly default and a possible
exit from the euro zone stood at approximately 57 percent, Xinhua cited
the first official estimate.
At least 40 percent of the electoral body should participate for the referendum to be valid, under the Greek Constitution.
As
the final official results were expected on Monday morning, Greek
cabinet ministers were expressing the Leftist government's satisfaction
over the outcome and willingness to strike a better agreement with
lenders immediately.
"We must strike a deal within 48 hours,"
Greek government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis told the national
broadcaster ERT highlighting the urgency for a deal, as the local
banking system faced the specter of collapse with no foreign aid, banks
closed and capital controls introduced since last Monday.
The
chief of Greece's Banking Association Louka Katseli has said that ATMS
are expected to run out of cash on Monday should the emergency liquidity
aid to Greek banks will not resume in the next few hours.
Voters
gave a clear mandate to the Leftist government to seek a "mutually
beneficial" solution to the crisis based on its proposals rather than
the creditor's offer on harsh terms, Sakellaridis argued, as NO camp
proponents were gathering in front of the parliament to celebrate.
Sakellaridis
and other cabinet ministers speaking in local media assured that
dialogue with lenders would resume from Sunday night. According to
government sources the Greek negotiating team was ready to travel to
Brussels.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras who called the
referendum a week ago as five month negotiations with lenders had hit an
impasse, has assured voters that on July 7 Greece will have a deal at
hand on better terms to secure further vital international funding to
stay afloat in the euro zone.
The government assured that banks
which closed after the European Central Bank cut off emergency liquidity
aid following his surprise call for the referendum, will reopen on
Tuesday. Skepticism was widespread, in particular after remarks made by
some ministers on Sunday evening.
"In 24 hours we could have an
agreement, I said. But our toxic media rushed to report that I predicted
an agreement within 24 hours," Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis
tweeted.
Deputy Finance Minister Nadia Valavanis caused an
immediate uproar by stating on Alpha television that the government
intended to block access to safe deposit boxes in banks vaults to savers
to avert further bank run.
European officials, main opposition
parties in Greece and analysts across the world have warned that the
result could be interpreted as a NO to Greece's future membership in the
euro zone and lead to more hardship for Greek people.
Since July
1 Greece is already in arrears to the International Monetary Fund and
without the safety net of the bailout program that kept it afloat over
the past five years, is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
Officials
and analysts in Greece and abroad warned that banks may not reopen this
week and Greek citizens will suffer more pain before any deal is
reached.