Dublin, May 24 (IANS) With all votes from the country’s 43 constituencies counted, Ireland has approved same-sex marriage with 1.2 million people voting in its favor.
At Dublin Castle, Returning Officer Riona Ni Fhlanghaile on Saturday declared that a total of 1,201,607 people (62.1 percent) voted in favor with 734,300 (37.9 percent) against, giving a majority of 467,307. The total valid poll was 1,935,907, reports Xinhua.
The biggest Yes support will be in Dublin, where it is topping 70 percent in some areas.
West Ireland’s Roscommon-South Leitrim was the only constituency to reject same-sex marriage. The No vote there finished with 51.4 percent.
Ireland has become the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote in the world. The result has been described as a social revolution, an expression of decency and a country coming of age.
On Friday, Ireland voted in a referendum — whether the Constitution should be changed so as to extend civil marriage rights to same-sex couples. From early Saturday, large crowds gathered at Dublin Castle to hear the final official result.