New Zealanders have voted resoundingly to legalise assisted suicide, although another proposal to legalise recreational cannabis appears to have been narrowly rejected.
The binding referendum returned 65 per cent of votes in favour of allowing euthanasia and 34 per cent against after approximately 83 per cent of votes had been counted.
Asked whether marijuana should be legalised, 53 per cent voted against and 46 per cent voted for.
The margin on the cannabis poll is small enough that the result could be swung by special votes – mostly from New Zealanders living abroad – according to the country’s Electoral Commission.
Almost half a million special votes remain to be counted next week, with the final results published on November 6.
Previous referendums have seen special votes tend towards the more politically liberal option, giving proponents some hope, but a large…
