World News
Greeks vote in referendum to determine country's economic fate─── 10:33 Sun, 05 Jul 2015
Athens - Greece is voting on Sunday on its bailout conditions in a snap referendum with far-reaching consequences for the debt-laden country and the rest of Europe.
A series of opinion polls show a tight race, with a slim lead for the "yes" camp that is well within the margin of error.
The polls, released on Friday, also show an overwhelming majority of people - about 75% - want Greece to remain in the eurozone.
With banks shuttered all week, cash withdrawals capped and businesses already feeling the strain of capital controls, Sunday's ballot could decide whether Greece gets another financial rescue in exchange for more harsh austerity measures - or plunges deeper into crisis.
The surprise June 27 decision by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to call the referendum followed a breakdown in talks between Athens and its creditors - the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The vote may not only determine Greece's economic fate but also serve as a nationwide vote of confidence in Tsipras' government, which came to power in January on an anti-austerity ticket.
Tsipras says he wants Greece to remain in the eurozone and is telling voters that rejecting the creditors' proposals will give him a mandate to negotiate a better deal. But European officials have warned that it will be much harder to reach agreement on any new bailout arrangements if the country votes "no."
Some 9.8 million Greeks are eligible to vote in the referendum.
Polls are expected to close at 19:00 (16:00 GMT), and there will be no exit polls due to cost constraints.
The first reliable estimate of the results could come as early as 21:00 (18:00 GMT) provided that there is a clear 4% difference between "yes" and "no," and that 10% of the ballots from the entire country have been counted.
