"It's looking like we will make history," an Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said last night following an overwhelming 'Yes' result from the exit polls of the Eighth Amendment referendum.
Polls by the Irish Times and RTE following yesterday’s vote have found an overwhelming majority vote for a Repeal of the Eighth and the liberalisation of Ireland’s abortion laws.
The Irish Times/Ipsos/MRBI poll found the margin of victory in the referendum will be 68% Yes to 32% No.
The RTE Behaviour and Attitudes poll tallied a result of Yes 69.4% – No 30.6%. A breakdown of the poll projects that 65.9% of men voted Yes, with 72.1% women voting in favour of repealing the Eighth.
The Connacht Ulster region voted 59-41 for Yes, according to the Irish Times/Ipsos/MRBI poll. 62% voted Yes in the region according to the RTE poll.
The Yes vote was strongest among the younger age groups, as this referendum attracted a rise in the number of voters joining the supplementary register. Thousands of expats returned home to vote on May 25th.
#RTEexitpoll also suggests only age group to vote no in #8thref were those aged 65+ pic.twitter.com/4FOjPMD49W
— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) May 25, 2018
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar reacted to the results last night with a positive outlook, saying: “Thank you to everyone who voted today. Democracy in action. It’s looking like we will make history tomorrow.”
It’s a big YES from me. #Together2Vote #Together4Yes #repealthe8th #VoteYes #8thref pic.twitter.com/ExMVuVga2p
— Leo Varadkar (@campaignforleo) May 25, 2018
Health Minister Simon Harris said last night that he was looking forward to today’s result. “Will sleep tonight in the hope of waking up to a country that is more compassionate, more caring and more respectful. It has been an honour to be on this journey with you and to work #togetherforyes.”
The official count will begin in constituencies across Ireland this Saturday morning. Voting results will be announced throughout the day.
