Irish voters overwhelmingly agreed to remove the offence of blasphemy from the country’s constitution in Friday’s referendum, held concurrently with the Presidential election. Nearly 65 per cent of voters approved the measure, eliminating an offence that was last prosecuted in 1855. All 40 of the Republic’s constituencies were in favour of the reform, the second […]
Month: October 2018
Higgins extends his crushing lead in Irish presidential contest
Incumbent Michael D. Higgins continues to cruise towards victory in the Irish Republic’s Presidential election, due on 26 October. Higgins has even extended his overwhelming lead in today’s Red C/Paddy Power poll, advancing three points to 70 per cent of first preference voting intentions. He enjoys big majorities among supporters of all parties, among all […]
Referendum result: Romania same-sex marriage ban falls foul of low turnout
An attempt to insert a ban on same-sex marriage into Romania’s constitution has failed following very low turnout, which invalidated this weekend’s referendum on the issue. With just 21.1 per cent participation, turnout was well below the threshold of 30 per cent needed to make the decision legally binding. Among those who did cast ballots, […]
Referendum result: Macedonian name change
Voters in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia overwhelmingly supported a proposed agreement with Greece to settle the long-running dispute between the two Balkan neighbours – but last Sunday’s referendum turnout failed to clear the 50 per cent hurdle needed to make it binding. Over 90 per cent of those who did go to the […]