Greek referendum falls short of European standards: Council of Europe

[STRASBOURG, France] The Greek referendum on bailout proposals planned for Sunday was organised too hastily and is not up to European standards, the Council of Europe said on Wednesday.

"It is obvious that the timeline is too short with regards to our standards," said Daniel Holtgen, spokesman for the Council's secretary general Thorbjoern Jagland.

"There are at least three criteria on which the Council of Europe has concerns about the validity of the proposed referendum," said Mr Holtgen.

"Voters should have the referendum questions at least two weeks" before it is held, he said, adding the short preparation period meant it was not possible to have international observation of the vote.

Mr Holtgen said the questions were also not sufficiently "clear and understandable."

The ballot reads: "Should the plan of agreement be accepted, which was submitted by the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund in the Eurogroup of 25.06.15 and comprises of two parts, which constitute their unified proposal? The first document is entitled 'Reforms For The Completion Of The Current Program And Beyond' and the second 'Preliminary Debt Sustainability Analysis'."

Voters must tick one of two boxes: 'No' or 'Yes'.

AFP

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