Greece: Poll shows 2 sides neck and neck before referendum - ASSOPR
03-Jul-2015 10:02:42
ATHENS, Greece
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The brief but intense campaign in Greece's critical
bailout referendum ends Friday, with simultaneous rallies in Athens for "Yes"
and "No" supporters in what an opinion poll shows will be a very close race.
The poll published in To Ethnos newspaper showed the "Yes" campaign slightly in
the lead but well within the margin of error. It also showed an overwhelming
majority — 74 percent — want the country to remain in Europe's joint currency,
the euro, compared to 15 percent who want a national currency.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called the referendum last weekend, asking Greeks
to decide whether they should accept creditor reform proposals in return for
vitally needed bailout funds. He is advocating a "No" vote on Sunday.
But those proposals are no longer on the table after negotiations with European
creditors broke down last weekend and Greece's bailout expired on Tuesday,
meaning the country no longer has access to the rescue loans.
The "Yes" campaign says the referendum is in fact a vote on whether Greece wants
to remain in the euro and in Europe. The government rejects this as
scaremongering, saying a "No" vote will put it in a better bargaining position
and will not lead Greece to leave the eurozone.
The survey conducted by ALCO found 41.5 percent will vote "Yes" on Sunday and
40.2 percent saying they will vote "No," with 10.9 percent undecided. The rest
said they would abstain or leave their ballots blank.
When discounting those who say they will case blank ballots or abstain, those
intending to vote "Yes" came to 44.8 percent compared to 43.4 percent who will
vote "No" and 11.8 percent undecided.
The survey interviewed 1,000 people nationwide on June 30-July 1 and has a
margin of error of 3.1 percent.
The referendum campaign will wrap up Friday evening with rallies by the two
sides, to be held 800 meters (875 yards) apart in central Athens. Tsipras is set
to speak at the "No" rally in the capital's main Syntagma Square outside
Parliament, while the "Yes" rally will be held at the nearby Panathenian
Stadium, where the first modern Olympics were held in 1894.
The vote is set to be one of the most important in Greece's modern history, but
many voters are confused about what's at stake. The government vehemently denies
a "No" vote would force the country out of the euro, but most opposition parties
and many European officials have said this could be the case.
"The referendum is unclear in the way it is being phrased, so I interpret this
ambiguity as meaning we might stay in Europe or not," said Apostolos Foutsitzis,
a 43-year-old medical scanner operator in the northern city of Thessaloniki. He
said he will vote "Yes" because he wants Greece to remain in Europe.
Much of the ambiguity arises from the complicated question that will be printed
on the ballot paper.
Greeks are being asked to reply to the following question:
"Must the agreement plan be accepted which was submitted by the European
Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund to the
Eurogroup of 25 June 2015 and is comprised of two parts which make up their
joint proposal?
"The first document is titled 'reforms for the completion of the current program
and beyond' and the second 'Preliminary debt sustainability analysis'."
Then voters are asked to tick either the "not approved/no" box, which is placed
above the "approved/yes" box.
The Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, is to rule
Friday on a motion brought by two private citizens asking the court to rule the
referendum illegal.
The vote comes after a week of bank closures, with Greeks restricted to daily
withdrawals of 60 euros ($67) — although in practice this has been reduced to 50
euros as most automatic teller machines have run out of 20 euro notes.
Some banks have been opened to allow pensioners without ATM cards withdraw a
maximum 120 euros for the week, with crowds of elderly people waiting outside
the doors for hours to get inside.
Capital controls were imposed on Monday to staunch the hemorrhaging of funds
from the country's lenders as worried Greeks rushed to ATM machines after
Tsipras' referendum announcement last weekend.
"Our efforts are focused on overcoming the crisis as fast as possible — with a
solution that preserves the dignity and sovereignty of our people," Tsipras said
Thursday.
The popular 40-year-old prime minister argues a strong "No" vote will help
Greece win a new deal with the eurozone's rescue mechanism that would include
terms to make the country's 320 billion euro national debt sustainable.
He insisted a deal could be struck "within 48 hours" of the vote.
His argument, however, was dismissed by the head of the eurozone finance
ministers' group, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
"That suggestion is simply wrong," Dijsselbloem told lawmakers in the
Netherlands.
European officials and the Greek opposition have warned a "No" outcome Sunday
could be tantamount to a decision to leave the euro.
"The consequences are not the same if it's a 'Yes' or 'No,'" French President
Francois Hollande said.
"If it's the 'Yes,' even if it's on the basis of proposals that have already
expired, negotiations can resume and I imagine be quickly concluded," he said.
"We are in something of an unknown. It's up to the Greeks to respond."
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Online: Official referendum website
Greece Votes | Referendum 5 Of july 2015
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Costas Kantouris and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report.
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