British
government rejects petition for second EU vote
Referendum
on Brexit ‘was a once in a generation vote,’ the government
statement said.
By CYNTHIA KROET
7/9/16, 12:40 PM CET
The U.K. government
has formally rejected a petition that was signed by more than four
million people, calling for a second referendum on Britain’s EU
membership.
The June 23 vote on
Brexit was “one of the biggest democratic exercises in British
history,” the government said. The petition for the second vote on
the issue that was rejected on Saturday was signed by 4.125 million
people.
“The prime
minister and government have been clear that this was a once in a
generation vote and, as the prime minister has said, the decision
must be respected,” the government said in a statement, AFP
reports.
“We must now
prepare for the process to exit the EU and the government is
committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the British
people in the negotiations,” according to the statement.
Young protesters
demonstrate outside Downing Street, following the United Kingdom's
decision to leave the EU following the referendum, on June 24, 2016
in London, England
The proponents of
the petition said the June 23 vote was close enough for the balloting
to be repeated with 51.9 percent of voters in favor Britain’s
departure from the EU and 48.1 percent against it.
According to the
text, the government should implement a rule that if the remain or
leave vote is less than 60 percent based a turnout less than 75
percent there should be a second referendum.
Turnout on June 23
was 72 percent. The government said no minimum turnout threshold was
set when the EU Referendum Act passed in the parliament in 2015.
Authors:
Cynthia Kroet
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