Updated 11.19pm
THE RESULTS OF two exit polls suggest that the Yes side in the Eighth Referendum is set to win by a huge margin.
A poll for the Irish Times suggests that the result of the referendum is 68% in favour of yes to 32% for no, while one for RTÉ estimates that 69.4% voted yes.
The Irish Times exit poll was conducted by Ipsos/MRBI on 4,000 respondents at 160 polling stations in every constituency. The margin for error is estimated at +/- 1%.
The highest yes vote was in Dublin, according to the exit poll, with 77% of people voting yes. Support among women was 70% in favour of repealing the Eighth, while it suggests that 87% of 18-24-year-olds voted for a repeal.
The RTÉ’s exit poll, announced on the Late Late Show by Behaviour & Attitudes, was conducted interviewing 3,000 people across Ireland immediately after they voted today. There was a broadly similar yes vote among men and women with, again, almost four-fifths in Dublin voting yes.
In Connacht and Ulster, 62% voted yes according to the RTÉ exit poll.
Although only an indication of how the Irish public voted, the strong margin in favour of Yes has led campaigners on that side to begin celebrating a victory, while No campaigners have conceded the vote.
Turnout was reported to be high across the country today, with estimates putting the number of voters ahead of the 60% that voted in the 2015 marriage equality referendum.
Polling boxes are set to open at 9am in the morning around the country, as the votes are tallied in the Eighth Amendment referendum.
Early tallies from count centres around the country are expected from midday onwards, and we’re likely to know definitively which side has won from 2pm onwards.
The official result will be announced from Dublin Castle, with rough estimates placing that at around 4-4.30pm.
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