Greeks voted Sunday in a tightly fought referendum regardings terms of agreement with European Union lenders.
Polling stations were opened across the country at 7:00 am local time (04:00 GMT) and are scheduled to close at 7:00 pm (16:00 GMT), reported Al Jazeera. The first results expected by 9:00 pm local time (18:00 GMT).
The cash-strapped country appears evenly divided over the issue according to opinion polls, reported BBC. Greece has about 8.5 million people eligible to vote in referendum out of a total population of 11 million.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whose left-wing government has urged people to vote 'No', said the country would determine its own destiny.
"No one can ignore the will of the people to live, to live with determination, to take its destiny into its own hands," Tsipras said, after casting his ballot in Athens, according to AFP.
European Union leaders say a 'No' result could lead to Greece's exit from the 19-nation eurozone.
"Is Greece still in the euro after this referendum? That is certainly the case, but if they say 'no' they will have to introduce another currency after the referendum because the euro is not available as a means of payment," said Martin Schulz, head of the European Parliament, according to Reuters.
A day ahead of the referendum, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis accused country's lenders of 'terrorism'.
"What they are doing with Greece has a name: terrorism," Varoufakis said in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo on Saturday. "Why they have forced us to close the banks? To instill fear in people. And when it comes to spread terror, this phenomenon is called terrorism. But I trust that fear does not win," he said.
