Lisbon Treaty officially rejected

With all official constituency counts in, the Lisbon Treaty has been officially rejected by the Irish electorate.

The final constituency, that of Taoiseach Brian Cowen in Laois-Offaly, voted in favour of the treaty, with 31,786 (56%) voting in favour, with 24,963 voting against (44%).

Nationally, the final count saw 862,415 voting No, a 53.4% majority, with 752,451 voting Yes (46.6%).

The results followed a day-long count that revealed how rural and working-class voters heavily rejected the EU’s blueprint to modernise its powers and institutions in line with its rapid expansion since 2004.

Ireland was the only EU member to seek to ratify the Lisbon Treaty through a national referendum, while all others are doing so only through their national governments.

The Irish rejection technically means it cannot become law throughout the community.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen will join other EU leaders at a summit next week to try to negotiate a new way forward.