Ireland votes to relax abortion law: poll

IRELAND VOTED to liberalise its abortion laws by 68% to 32% in yesterday’s historic referendum, according to an exit poll conducted for The Irish Times.

Four thousand voters were interviewed by Ipsos/MRBI as they left polling stations yesterday.

Sampling began at 7am and was conducted at 160 locations across every constituency throughout the day. The margin of error is estimated at +/- 1.5%, the newspaper said.

Polls closed at 10pm amid reports of strong turnout in many parts of the country, particularly in urban areas.

Earlier Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, a proponent of liberalising Ireland’s strict abortion regime, predicted a high turnout would be good for those campaigning for change.

Thousands of Irish citizens living overseas travelled home in droves to exercise their democratic right on the emotive issue.

Polls for the historic vote opened across the country at 7am, with citizens effectively opting to either retain or repeal the Eighth Amendment of the state’s constitution, which prohibits terminations unless a mother’s life is in danger.

Counting was beginning this morning, with the result expected later today.

“I always get a little buzz from voting, it just feels like it is democracy in action,” Mr Varadkar said after emerging from the polling station at Castleknock. “Not taking anything for granted of course, but quietly confident – there’s been good turnout across the country so far.”

Not taking anything for granted of course, but quietly confident. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who is hoping for repeal of the constitutional abortion ban.