Rival rallies in Greece as crucial referendum poised on a knife-edge

With less than 24 hours until Greece’s crucial referendum, the latest tracking data, seen by Sky News, shows a 1% lead for the government-led No campaign. The poll is still too close to call, with an estimated 10% of voters undecided. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras rallied a huge crowd in the capital’s Syntagma Square on Friday night, urging people to vote “a proud no” to European creditors’ proposals, and “live with dignity in Europe”. His opponents at a rival Yes campaign rally across the city, say a No vote would mean financial chaos, and falling out of the European single currency.

On Sunday, we are not just deciding that we are staying in Europe, but that we are deciding to live with dignity in Europe.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras

Framing Sunday’s ballot as a battle for democracy, freedom and European values, the 40-year-old left-wing leader told Greeks to “turn your backs on those who terrorize you daily". Tsipras’ opponents accuse him of gambling Greece’s future with a rapid-fire vote that a major European rights watchdog says falls short of international standards of fairness. Greece owes $358 billion, a crippling amount that is 180% of its annual output.

Politics Greece