Referendum No vote 'great day for democracy'

[CountAllVotes]

NO side reaction: Campaigners for a No vote have welcomed the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by Irish voters.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said the Treaty was "finished" as he arrived in the main count centre in Dublin Castle. He said the result should be interpreted positively. Irish people want a "social Europe" and want to be at the heart of Europe but to feel there is "maximum democratic power", Mr Adams said.

His party colleague, and Dublin MEP Mary Lou MacDonald said the strong No vote indicated that there was "a deep sense that the Government isn't serious about our position as a neutral state" and that people had declined to back the Treaty because of a "sense of a loss of power".

The founder of Libertas, Declan Ganley, who campaigned for a No vote, said: "The Irish people have rejected the Lisbon Treaty. "It is a great day for Irish democracy", he added.

Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins has said the likely No vote to the Lisbon Treaty was a "huge rebuff to the political establishment" but a vindication of the rights of "tens of millions of workers" in the European Union.

Speaking in Dublin Castle, where final results of the counts will be announced later, Mr Higgins said he believed the No side had "won the argument", despite the fact that the main political parties and "big business" were in favour of the treaty.

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0613/breaking67.html?via=me

I am glad to learn about this. Maybe the "New Ireland" as it has been coined isn't exactly going in the direction that has already been carved out for the Irish and Ireland I can only hope.

:dem: