Irish foreign minister: Lisbon vote trend "disappointing"

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin said Friday that unofficial tallies from the country's referendum on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty are "disappointing."

The tallies have shown the no side ahead in about three-quarters of the country's 43 constituencies, reported dpa.

Martin, whose Fianna Fail party along with the main opposition parties, Fine Gael and Labour, campaigned for a yes vote, told RTE radio that while it is still "very early days" and the tallies are "sketchy," the "trends are not what we would have preferred."

However, Martin refused to concede defeat.

Official results will be announced in Dublin on Friday afternoon.