Greece debt: Greeks vote in bailout referendum

 Capital controls have been in place in Greece over the past week

Capital controls have been in place in Greece over the past week

Millions of Greeks are voting in a crucial referendum on whether to accept the terms of an international bailout.

Polling stations opened at 07:00 local time (04:00 GMT), with the first results expected on Sunday evening.

After a frenetic week of campaigning, the two opposing sides held huge rallies in Athens on Friday.

The government has urged voters to vote “No”, but opponents warn this could see Greece ejected from the eurozone.

‘Spreading fear’

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told local media on Saturday that the EU had “no legal grounds” to throw Greece out of the euro.

On the eve of the referendum, he accused Athens’ creditors of trying to sow fear around the vote. He told Spain’s El Mundo newspaper (in Spanish): “Why did they force us to close the banks? To instil fear in people. And spreading fear is called terrorism.”

Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, one of Greece’s harshest critics, suggested that if Greece were to leave the eurozone, it might only be temporary.

“Greece is a member of the eurozone. There’s no doubt about that,” he told German newspaper Bild.

“Whether with the euro or temporarily without it: only the Greeks can answer this question. And it is clear that we will not leave the people in the lurch.”

Tight race

Greece’s current bailout programme with the European Commission, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) ran out on Tuesday.

Banks have been shut all week, with limits imposed on cash withdrawals.

Mr Varoufakis said that the banks in Greece would reopen on Tuesday whatever the outcome and that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would still reach an agreement with creditors if the result was “No” in the referendum.

BBC

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