Update 2 | Greece defies Europe with resounding ‘No’ vote

Greeks voted an overwhelming 'No' on Sunday in a historic bailout referendum, partial results have showed.

Official figures show that with nearly a fifth of the vounts counted, 60.4% of Greeks voted to reject a bailout offer from creditors, while 40.1 votes Yes. This is the second time in five months that Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has secured a stunning electoral victory. 

Initial results also show that 67% of Greek youths backed the 'No' vote, while the majority of the older voters backed the 'yes' vote as they sought to secure their savings and pensions. 

Early results from the Greek bailout referendum indicate a clear rejection of the bailout terms from Greece’s creditors that would have enforced more austerity on the country.

With 30% of all the votes counted, the No campaign enjoys a massive 60.69% lead over the No campaign. The 'No' victory suggests voters had defied a call from across Europe that rejection of the creditors' terms would set their country on a path out of the euro.

Officials from the Greek government, which had argued that a 'No' vote would strengthen its hand to secure a better deal from international creditors after months of wrangling, immediately said they would try to restart talks with European partners.

"The negotiations which will start must be concluded very soon, even within 48 hours," government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis told Greek television." We will undertake every effort to seal it soon."

Euclid Tsakalotos, the government's chief negotiator said talks could restart as early as Sunday evening. Greece’s labour minister Panos Skourletis hailed the outcome as a very good thing for democracy.

“The goverment can go now with a very strong card to continue negotiations [with creditors],” he told reporters outside the the prime minister’s office.

Earlier, three opinion polls by GPO, Metron Analysis and MRB all showed the 'No' camp' ahead by three points. A poll by Marc estimated 49.5 to 54.5 percent of Greeks voted 'No' compared to 45.5 to 50.5 percent voting 'Yes', based on surveys conducted through the week.

Voting began at 7 am local time on Sunday and ended at 5pm, with almost 9.9 million Greeks eligible to vote. 

The ballot asked voters to decide whether or not to accept international creditors’ proposals for more austerity in exchange for rescue loans needed to avoid default and a banking collapse. The vote held presents the biggest challenge to the running of the euro since its adoption and risks sending shockwaves through the world’s financial markets.

Opinion polls show a large majority of Greeks want to remain in the euro. But, exhausted and resentful after years of austerity cuts imposed under successive bailout programs, many appear to have shrugged off the warnings of disaster, trusting that a deal can still be reached.

If the ‘No’ result is confirmed, the result will deliver a hammer blow to the European Union's grand single currency project. Intended to be permanent and unbreakable when it was created 15 years ago, the euro zone could now be on the point of losing its first member with the risk of further unraveling to come.

Greek banks, which have been closed all week and rationing withdrawals from cash machines, are expected to run out of money within days unless the European Central Bank provides an emergency lifeline.

However central bankers warned before the vote that a 'No' would make it almost impossible for the ECB to turn on the taps, leaving the Greek financial system without funds and facing imminent collapse.

A 'No' vote would leave Greece and the euro zone in uncharted waters. Unable to borrow money on capital markets, Greece has one of the world's highest levels of public debt. The International Monetary Fund warned last week that it would need massive debt relief and 50 billion euros in fresh funds.