News outlets are officially reporting that the ‘No’ side has won a decisive victory in Greece, rejecting a bailout offer from foreign creditors that would have imposed further austerity and economic hardship.
Reuters reports that government officials “immediately said they would try to restart talks with European partners,” perhaps as soon as Sunday night.
25% of votes in, #oxi leading by 60%. Estimates that this will rise to 61%-62%. Tonight the result is: Democracy 1 Austerity 0. #Greferendum
— Liam O’Hare (@Liam_O_Hare) July 5, 2015
— Team Varoufakis (@TeamVaroufakis) July 5, 2015
At Vox, Matthew Yglesias explores what a “No” vote really means.
“The people of Greece have stood up to the bully boys of the Troika and the violent imposition of their neoliberal policies,” said Global Justice Now’s Nick Dearden in a statement responding to the early results. “Our deeply unequal global economy relies on ordinary people having no real voice over economic decisions, so this ‘no’ vote strengthens the battle for a fairer, more humane, people-centred Europe.”
He continued: “For the first time in history, austerity politics have been put to a popular vote and they have been resoundingly rejected. We must stand with the people of Greece to secure deep debt cancellation, an end to austerity policies, redistribution of wealth within the EU and serious banking regulation.”
Update (1:50 pm EDT):
Less than two hours after the Greek polls closed, the country’s Interior Ministry reportedly projected the ‘No’ side would get more than 60 percent of the vote.