Friday, June 13, 2008

The Irish referendum

Update (19.20GMT)  The Lisbon Treaty has been rejected by Irish voters sparking a crisis for plans to reform European Union structures. A total of 53.4% voted to reject the treaty, while 46.6% voted in favour. All but 10 constituencies rejected the treaty, with a total of 752,451 voting in favour of Lisbon and 862,415 votes against. Turnout was 53.1%.

update (17.20 GMT) only five of 43 constituencies left to declare a result, the No vote is leading by 53.7 per cent to 46.3 per cent. All but seven constituencies have rejected the treaty, with a national running total of 656,228 voting in favour of Lisbon and 761,207 votes against.

update (14.20 GMT)  With 29 of 43 constituencies declared, the No vote is leading by 53.5 per cent to 46.5 per cent. All but six constituencies have rejected the treaty, with a national running total of 527,591 voting in favour of Lisbon and 608,156 votes against.

update (13.50 GMT) With 19 of 43 constituencies declared, the No vote is leading by 54.7 per cent to 45.3 per cent. 
All but two constituencies, Dublin South and Dublin North, have rejected the treaty.
In Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny's Mayo constituency, the treaty has been rejected by a large 61.7 per cent of voters. Mr Kenny and the party’s MEP Jim Higgins conceding earlier today that the No campaign had won in Mayo.

update
 (13.03 GMT) With nine of 43 constituencies having declared results, the No vote is leading by 57.6 per cent to 42.4 per cent.

update (12.17 GMT)  Six of 43 constituencies having declared results the No vote is leading by 55 per cent to 45 per cent.Waterford, Sligo-North Leitrim, Tipperary North and South, Kerry North and South have all rejected the treaty.

update (11.39 GMT) Waterford has rejected the treaty by 54 per cent to 46 per cent

Tallies in the Lisbon Treaty referendum indicate a strong Yes vote in County Dublin but a No victory in city constituencies and around the rest of the country. 
The tallies indicate there has been a strong No showing in rural areas and in working-class urban areas, while there appears to be less support for the treaty in middle-class urban areas than had been expected.The combined vote in Dublin city and county appears to leaning towards a No vote. However, according to tallies, Dun Laoghaire is two to one in favour of the treaty, as is Dublin South with Dublin South East 60/40 in favour.
Dublin North East, North West and South Central are being called as two to one against the treaty.Dublin Central is 57 per cent against and 43 per cent in favour, according to tallies. Dublin West is 55 per cent No and 45 per cent Yes. Dublin South West is thought to be heading towards a similar margin against, while there has been no tallies done in Dublin North.In Mayo, the vote appears to be 60-40 per cent in favour of the No camp with the majority of boxes counted. There was a 52 per cent turnout. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and the party’s MEP Jim Higgins are conceding that the No campaign have won in Mayo.In Galway West, with all boxes counted, tallies indicate 53.95 per cent No to 46.05 per cent Yes. There was a significant No vote in rural areas, including 84 per cent voting No in parts of Connemara, such as Carna and Cliften.Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív is conceding defeat for the treaty in the constituency.In Galway East constituency, the trend from tallies also appears to be against the treaty by a narrow margin with most of the 149 boxes opened. In Tuam, the heartland of Libertas founder Declan Ganley, the No votes were two to one ahead.Finalised tallies in Cork North Central indicate a two to one vote against the treaty. Cork South Central also appears to be leaning towards a No vote but by a smaller margin.A strong No vote has been reported in Minister for Education Batt O’Keefe’s home town of Ballincollig.In neighbouring Kerry, tallies are pointing toward a substantial 60 per cent vote against the treaty.In Dublin South-West, there is a report 60 per cent - 40 per cent split in favour of the No side, and this 60:40 tally is repeated in Dublin North-West, Dublin Central, and Dublin North-East.Elsewhere in the country, tallies from Limerick West indicate a 59 per cent No vote and a 41 Yes vote.Tipperary South tallies show 50.3 per cent Yes and 49.7 per cent No vote, while Tipperary North tallies indicate a 50:50 split.Initial tally figures from Sligo-Leitrim suggest a 66 per cent No vote, Roscommon-South Leitrim indicates a 55 per cent No vote, while Donegal South-West (55 per cent No) and Donegal North-East (63 per cent No) are also showing an anti-Lisbon trend.In Louth, the tally split was reported to be a 57 per cent - 43 per cent in favour of No. In Meath West and East, the split shows a 60-40 percentage advantage to the No side.Both Kildare constituencies appear to be bucking the trend, however, with early tallies indicating a 57 per cent - 43 per cent vote in favour of Lisbon.Turnout was reported at about 40 per cent by 9pm, up from 20 per cent in some constituencies by mid-afternoon. In general, turnout was reported to be higher in city areas than in rural areas. By the time polls closed at 10pm last night, around 50 per cent of the three million people registered to vote were understood to have cast their ballots.
There is concern in other EU countries about the impact of the decision by Irish voters, and the French and German governments are expected to make a joint statement later today once the Irish result is known.
Ireland was the only country to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.


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