Greek referendum – when will the results come in? Voters set to reject bailout offer
Greece has entered uncharted territory after it overwhelmingly rejected austerity measures in exchange for unblocking aid in a historic referendum.
It's been over six hours since the polls closed, and around 95 per cent of the votes have been counted, with 61.31 per cent voting "no" and 38.69 per cent voting "yes".
This flies in the face of polls released earlier today which suggested that the final result would be too close to call – however they did show a slight swing towards "no".
Read more: "No" vote hammers the euro
(Source: Getty)
"Today we celebrate the victory of democracy, but tomorrow all together we continue and complete a national effort for exiting this crisis," Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras said.
Tsipras also stressed that the "no" vote is not a mandate for Greece to leave Europe, however it does give the government "greater negotiating strength".
Greece's Syriza party came to power in January promising to end Greece’s bailout, which was a cheap loan Athens was granted on the condition that it undertook reforms and cut its government’s debt.
Read more: Three quarters of business leaders think Greece will leave the euro
The cash-strapped country had been locked in talks with its "troika" of creditors over a list of economic reforms since February before it unexpectedly called a referendum.
Today's result means Greece and its creditors will are likely to the negotiating table, however they'll have to act fast if the country is to avoid financial catastrophe. If the renegotiations don't go to plan then this could pave the way for Greece's eventual exit from the Eurozone.
https://twitter.com/tsipras_eu/status/617796515071926272
Read more: Greek referendum: "What they are doing to Greece is terrorism" says Yanis Varoufakis
Meanwhile, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has implied that a "no" vote would ramp up pressure on the country's creditors to negotiate.
"As of tomorrow, with this brave "no" the Greek people handed us … we will extend a helping hand towards our lenders. We will call on each one of them to find common ground," he said.
"As of tomorrow, Europe, whose heart is beating in Greece tonight, is starting to heal its wounds, our wounds. Today's No is a big Yes to democratic Europe."
Read more: Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis hails "no" vote against austerity
The European Commission has said that President Juncker is in talks with Eurozone leaders as well as the heads of its institutions and will address the European Parliament on Tuesday.
"President Juncker is consulting tonight and tomorrow with the democratically elected leaders of the other 18 Eurozone members as well as with the Heads of the European Union institutions."
"He will have a conference call among the "Euro-Institutionals" (with the President of the Euro Summit, the President of the Euro Group and the President of the European Central Bank) on Monday morning."
"He intends to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday."
And the head of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem lamented the result as "very regrettable" for the future of Greece.
"For recovery of the Greek economy, difficult measures and reforms are inevitable," he said.
"We will now wait for the initiatives of the Greek authorities. The Eurogroup will discuss the state of play on Tuesday 7 July."