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Same-sex marriage approved by strong majority in Ireland: official result

Xinhua, May 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

With all votes from the country's 43 constituencies counted, Ireland on Saturday approved same-sex marriage with 1.2 million people voting in its favor.

At Dublin Castle, Returning Officer Riona Ni Fhlanghaile 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.

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. Endit