NOVEMBER 6: Austraians appeared to have overwhelmingly voted to keep the British queen as their head of state, rejecting becoming a republic, according to the early count in Saturday's historic referendum. With 58.2 percent of ballot papers counted in all states except Western Australia where polling stations were not due to close until 1000 GMT, the republican ``Yes'' campaign was trailing an alliance of monarchists and alienated republicans by 53.4 percent to 46.6 percent.More than 12.3 million people voted in the compulsory ballot to decide if Australia should sever constitutional ties to Britain by replacing England's Queen Elizabeth II with an Australian citizen as head of state. To win, the republicans needed a majority of votes nationally, and a majority in at least four of the six states, but it appeared to be heading for defeat everywhere. Labor Opposition leader Kim Beazley, a staunch republican supporter, conceded the Republican campaign had been defeated calling it a sad day for Australia.Beazley told reporters the republic was now ``most unlikely to occur'' because a majority of voters in a majority of states would not support it. ``It leaves our constitution in limbo and it is in limbo because of (Prime Minister) John Howard,'' he said. ``John Howard is entirely to blame.'' The campaign has been marred throughout by allegations of fraud, lying and scaremongering, particularly against the monarchist side. Beazley said there had been a barrage of misinformation from the monarchists ``No'' camp. ``But needless to say the Labor Party will never let this issue die,'' he said. Another republican leader, Australian Democrats deputy leader, senator Natasha Stott Despoja accused Howard of rigging the referendum question to exploit divisions in the republican movement. The question, which has bitterly divided republicans, asked whether Australians wanted a President elected by a two-thirds majority of Federal parliament. But many supporters of an Australian republic favoured direct popularpresidential elections, like in the United States, and joined the monarchists in campaigning against what they described as a flawed republican model. ``I think it is an absurdity to have the queen as head of state. The Crown has served its purpose but it has outlived its usefulness and that's not being disrespectful,'' said 101-year-old World War I veteran Ted Smout. But Sydney businesswoman Rose Barraclough said the proposed republic model had too many flaws and Australia was in danger of ending up with a Mickey Mouse President. ``When actors start talking about wanting to be President of Australia, something is seriously wrong,'' she said.A coalition of republican groups, the Australian Republican Coalition, announced on Saturday that they would fight for a new referendum to be held on a directly-elected Australian President before 2005. In a blow to Howard the second question in Saturday's referendum, a proposed preamble to the Australian constitution, appeared to be doomed with voters alsooverwhelmingly voting against it. The preamble sought to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, immigrants and Australia's democratic traditions in the constitution.
