Greece’s left-wing government has called a referendum for Sunday, July 5th, after five months of acrimonious talks with its official creditors over an aid-for-reforms deal broke down without a deal.
Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has said the plebiscite is not about Greece's membership of the EU single currency but a chance for Greeks to say whether they are willing to bear more austerity, demanded by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund as part of a proposed deal.
The government has urged voters to reject the offer but EU leaders have warned that, since the creditors’ proposal has expired, a ‘No’ vote would entail risks for Greece’s place in the euro zone.
The following are details on the referendum:
WHEN: Voting booths open from 7am to 7pm (4am to 4pm Irish time)
THE QUESTION: "Should the agreement plan that the EU Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund submitted to the June 25th Eurogroup meeting, comprising two parts that form their comprehensive proposal, be accepted?
“The first part is titled ‘Reforms for the completion of the current programme and beyond’ and the second part is titled ‘Preliminary debt sustainability analysis.”
VOTER PARTICIPATION: For the referendum to be valid, at least 40 percent of Greece's 9,855,029 registered voters must turn out. In a survey by the ProRata institute this week, 86 per cent of respondents said they planned to vote. The referendum will cost €20 million.
OPINION POLLS: No opinion polls on the outcome, or on other political, economic or social themes, may be published from the day before the vote until the polling stations have closed. The same applies to exit polls.
FIRST OFFICIAL PROJECTION OF RESULT: Probably around 9pm (6pm Irish time).
Reuters