Greek 'No' wins referendum with over 61pc of votes: near-complete results

Athens

More than 61 per cent of Greek voters on Sunday rejected fresh austerity demands by the country's EU-IMF creditors in a historic referendum, official results from over 95 percent of polling stations showed.

Thousands of Athenians gathered in central Syntagma Square to celebrate the result, despite warnings that failure to reach a deal with the creditors could trigger a Greek exit from the eurozone.

"I'm so happy," said 37-year old Dima Rousso, adding that she hadn't expected there to be such a clear margin between the 'No' votes and the 'Yes' votes.

"This is Europe's chance to become what it should have been in the beginning," she said.

"Together we have written a bright page in modern European history," an elated Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the nation in a televised address.

"This is not a mandate of rupture with Europe, but a mandate that bolsters our negotiating strength to achieve a viable deal," he added.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker had said a Greek 'No' would be "no to Europe".

The head of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, called the Greek 'No' result "very regrettable for the future of Greece".