REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Initial results show that most Icelandic voters have rejected a $5.3 billion plan to pay off Britain and the Netherlands for debts spawned by the collapse of an Icelandic Internet bank.
With more than 70,000 votes counted, first results returned from six constituencies show 93 percent of those voters overwhelmingly said “no” in Saturday’s referendum, compared to just 1.6 percent who said “yes.”
Voters were considering whether to approve a deal that outlines the payment of $3.5 billion to Britain and $1.8 billion to the Netherlands as compensation for funds that those governments paid out to around 340,000 nationals as compensation after the Icesave internet bank collapsed.
Iceland is still struggling to recover from a deep recession, and many residents object to the tough terms of the repayment plan.
