Greeks vote on bailout referendum

Leading members of Greece's mainly left-wing government voted relatively early on Sunday, and urged their fellow countrymen to vote "oxi" in opposition to the referendum question, which was put to the people in the form of a rather convoluted 70 words.

After casting his ballot, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called on Greeks to deliver a resounding no vote, in order to end the "humiliation" that they had been subjected to by the country's creditors, the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank. He also expressed confidence that the voters would comply with his wishes.

"As of tomorrow we will have opened a new road for all the peoples of Europe, a road that leads back to the founding values of democracy and solidarity in Europe," he told reporters at his local polling station.

A "no" vote, he said, "would send a message of determination, not only to stay in Europe but to live with dignity in Europe."

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis turned up to vote at his Athens polling station along with his 90-year-old father. Varoufakis told reporters that the referendum was a chance for Greeks to pass judgment on the austerity "ultimatum" presented to them by the international creditor institutions. He also said it was the "massive failures" of the 19-member eurozone that had led to demands for more austerity measures in Greece.

Varoufakis would resign over "yes" vote

Asked by a reporter from the German newspaper "Bild" whether he would resign if Greek voters didn't give the government the no that it is after, Varoufakis replied: "absolutely." Tsipras has made similar statements regarding his possible resignation should the "yes" camp win the referendum.

The last opinion polls prior to the vote suggested that it would be a close contest, and there seemed to be agreement on what the question - and the answer the voters will - give actually mean.

While Tsipras has said a no vote will give him a stronger mandate in fresh negotiations with the creditors, other European leaders have suggested it could make reaching a new bailout deal even more difficult. Some have even suggested it could spell the beginning of the end of Greece's membership not just in the eurozone, but also the European Union. Further muddying the waters statements from creditors that the terms of the offer Greeks are voting on are not even on the table anymore.

Not surprisingly, conservative former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, whom Tsipras defeated in the January election, was among those to urge his fellow Greeks to vote "yes."

"We Greeks are deciding the destiny of our country," Samaras said. "We say 'yes' to Greece and 'yes' to Europe."

Voting was taking place at the end of a week of long queues at ATM's as Greeks tried to withdraw the 60 euros they are allowed daily access to under the capital controls introduced by the government after it missed a June 30 deadline to make a repayment of 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to the International Monetary Fund.

Despite the fact that Tsipras called the referendum just over a week ago, a spokesperson for the Greek Interior Ministry told the DPA news agency that as of the early afternoon, voting appeared to be going smoothly. Polling stations were to close at 7 p.m. local time (1600 UTC) with results expected a few hours later.

pfd/sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)