Athens: 'Oxi'. Greece has voted overwhelmingly to reject the financial lifeline proffered by Europe, choosing to roll the dice on its future rather than submit to more austerity economics.

With 96 per cent of the vote counted in Sunday's referendum, more than 62 per cent had voted 'No' to Europe's rescue package – a stunning result that defied poll predictions of a cliffhanger.

 
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis arrives in Athens. Photo: Reuters

As the result became clear, 'No' voters gathered for an impromptu party at Athens' central Syntagma Square, blowing whistles, cheering and banging drums. Greek flag sellers did a brisk business – as did the gathered purveyors of grilled meat on sticks.  

And it makes it very unlikely that Greece's banks will open for business on Tuesday, as planned.

 
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras votes at a polling station in Athens on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Prime minister Alexis Tsipras, in an address to the nation late on Sunday night, said Greece had "written a great page in European history".

"Democracy cannot be blackmailed," he said. "A people with faith and dignity can do anything."

 
Billis Vaghelis, 59, votes 'Oxi' ('No') in the Athens suburb of Cholargos during the Greece EU bailout referendum. Photo: Nick Miller

He said Greece did not want to leave Europe - but it wanted a better deal from Europe.

"There are no easy solutions, but there can be just solutions," he said.

Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis predicted it could take only "24 hours" to make a new deal in Brussels after a 'No' vote – he had also promised to resign if the result favoured 'Yes'.

 
The EU and Greek flags wave under the ancient Acropolis hill in Athens. Photo: Petr David Josek

As the result became clear Mr Varoufakis said "this no is a big yes to a democratic europe".

"With that 'no' we can go tomorrow to renegotiate," he said. "It is time for The European Central Bank to start treating the wounds of Greece - and of itself."

President of the European Council Donald Tusk said he called a Euro Summit for Tuesday evening to discuss the situation after the referendum.

 
A man casts his vote on Sunday. Photo: Emilio Morenatti

Seperately, the European Commission said in a statement that it "takes note of and respects the result of the referendum in Greece."

After consulting with the heads of EU institutions, President of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker also plans to address the European Parliament in Starbourg on Tuesday, the statement said.

Shockwaves through Greece

 
The future of Greece being decided on Sunday. Photo: Petr David Josek

The impact on of the vote on Greece's politics was immediate. Antonis Samaras quit as the New Democracy party leader, while the country's rejection of the Yes campaign sents shockwaves through the domestic political scene.

According to media reports, the negotiators for the Syriza government have already "packed their bags" and are ready to return to the European negotiating tables.

According to polling on Sunday, most of the Greeks who voted 'No' believed it would strengthen their negotiating hand in Brussels, as their government pushed for debt relief and less punishing economic measures as the riders on a multi-billion euro rescue package.

The 'Yes' vote was driven by fear that the alternative meant Greece would leave the euro, plunging the country into a crisis that could last for years.

But Europe seemed divided on the ramifications of 'No', with some leaders saying it meant Greece must leave the euro, and try to introduce a new currency to keep its country afloat – but others said they would 'do what it takes' to help Greece through its crisis.

One of the 'No' voters was Billis Vaghelis, 59, a retired architect who worked on the buildings for the Athens Olympics.

He told Fairfax his vote was a "No to [German chancellor Angela] Merkel, a No to [EU president Jean-Claude] Juncker, who have been threatening the survival of our country".

Austerity had brought misery and misfortune, had threatened the failure of the health and education system, and had "pushed people to the limit", he said.

He personally knew a man who had committed suicide in Athens' Syntagma Square in disgust and despair at the state of the country, he said.

"They have been devouring and humiliating Greece," he said. "We want an end to further (austerity) measures, no more reductions to wages and pensions that render people hopeless and violate their dignity."

He believed the rest of Europe had not respected Greece's democratic right to decide its future.

He hoped a 'No' vote would put debt relief on the table for new negotiations.

Dr George Vasilopoulos, a Greek Australian doctor who has lived in Athens for almost ten years, voted early, and he voted 'Yes'.

He has a particular reason to want to avoid his government going bankrupt, or a massive increase in the price of imports, which he fears could follow a 'No' vote.

"I have a son, 15, he's got cancer and is having treatment," Dr Vasilopoulos explained. "I am really worried about any interruption to his meds, and the hospitals and everything."

But he says he would have voted 'Yes' anyway.

"We were improving, we were making progress," he says. "There were some reforms.

"I don't usually go out to vote but this time it is so central and critical."

A 'Yes' vote would give the country a financial lifeline and buy it time to negotiate a stimulus package for the economy, he said.

Dr Vasilopoulos says many 'No' voters seem wrapped in a romantic notion that rejecting Europe's offer would solve all the country's problems.

"The idea that we could go back to the drachma and everyone would be rich again, the government gave that impression there's a free lunch – but it's wrong and false."

With the referendum underway, there were mixed signals from the rest of Europe as to how they would react to the result.

France's ambassador to the US tweeted that his country would do its "utmost" to keep Greece in the EU and Eurozone, no matter what the result.

Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schauble, who said on the weekend that a 'No' vote would mean Greece left the euro, clarified on Sunday that this might only be a temporary measure.

But Martin Schulz, head of the European parliament, told German radio that after a 'No' vote Greece would have to introduce a new currency to meet its financial needs, and at "that moment" would have left the Eurozone.