Greece appears to vote ‘no’ in referendum on bailout

Greek voters on Sunday appeared to have delivered a desperately needed victory for their government in its showdown with European creditors, as early official results from a Sunday referendum showed the country rejecting a bailout offer that officials here had scorned.

With half the votes counted, “no” had won 60 percent — a landslide for the government if that result holds up. By evening, thousands of government supporters converged on central Athens’ Syntagma Square to wave Greek flags and celebrate victory.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and others in his radical leftist administration had campaigned vigorously for voters to spurn an offer from creditors that he repeatedly described as “blackmail.” He had gambled that the public would back him, giving him the leverage to go back to the bargaining table and win a better deal.