IRELAND’s president and political leaders were among the first to cast their votes yesterday as the country went to the polls to decide whether to liberalise its strict abortion laws.

Counting began this morning, with the result expected to be announced later today. The referendum asked whether people wanted to repeal or retain the eighth amendment of the state’s constitution, which prohibits terminations unless a mother’s life is in danger.

Amid reports of a brisk morning turnout, president Michael Higgins and his wife Sabina cast their votes in Dublin at 9.30am, while Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, a vocal advocate for repeal, voted in the city at around 11.15am.

“I always get a little buzz from voting, it just feels like it is democracy in action,” Varadkar said after emerging from the polling station at Castleknock.

“Not taking anything for granted of course, but quietly confident – there’s been good turnout across the country so far and I’m hoping for a Yes vote tomorrow.

“Obviously, I would be encouraging everyone to come out and vote, a high turnout would be to the advantage of the yes campaign.”

He urged voters not to be distracted by the sunny weather and exercise their democratic right.

The leader of the main opposition party, Fianna Fail’s Micheal Martin, voted to repeal in his constituency in Cork while Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald also cast a Yes vote in Dublin.

However, her Sinn Fein party colleague and vocal anti-abortion campaigner Peadar Toibin called on Irish people to vote No to “abortion on demand”.

“The irony that the referendum on abortion is being held on International Missing Children’s Day will not be lost on many Irish people,” he tweeted.

“Those on the margins of society suffer most from abortion. Vote No to abortion on demand.”

The eighth amendment is a clause in the constitution which was written after a previous referendum on the issue in 1983 recognised the right to life of the unborn child.

It protects the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn and prohibits abortion in most cases.

A total of 3.3 million citizens were registered to vote, with 6500 polling stations open across the country.

If a Yes vote is secured, the eighth amendment would be replaced with wording that would hand politicians the responsibility to set future laws on abortion, unhindered by constitutional strictures.

The Catholic church has stood firm, arguing that the life of the unborn should be sacrosanct, but the retain campaign faces a major challenge from the opposition camp, which has portrayed itself as modernising and in-step with international opinion.

The Irish government intends to legislate by the end of the year if Yes wins, making it relatively easy for a woman to obtain the procedure in early pregnancy.

Ministers have promised to allow terminations within the first 12 weeks, subject to medical advice and a cooling-off period, and between 12 and 24 weeks in exceptional circumstances.

The debate during eight weeks of campaigning has been divisive, with the leaders of all the main political parties, including Fine Gael leader Varadkar, backing change.

They argued that a Yes vote represents the compassionate choice for thousands of Irish women forced to travel to England for the procedure. One of the cases highlighted during the campaign is that of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian dentist who died after being denied a life-saving abortion in 2012. She was 17 weeks pregnant when she developed septicemia.

Campaigners against change have used emotive language to highlight the threat to the foetus and warned against “extreme” proposals from the government, which could be expanded in future years.

Rural voters are more likely to vote No than their urban counterparts, while a significant number of “don’t knows” have cast a degree of uncertainty over the outcome.