With just hours to go before a critical austerity referendum that could decide Greece's financial future for decades to come, citizens are still struggling to decipher the confusing 68-word question.

Greeks will head to the polls on Sunday to either vote "yes" to accept creditors' proposals for further austerity measures in exchange for rescue loans, or "no" to turn down the deal, signifying that the country is tired of crippling belt-tightening measures.

The country's tense negotiations with lenders saw it default on its more than $300-billion debt earlier this week. Greece's banks remained closed as they sought to avoid collapse and the country lost access to billions of euros after an existing bailout deal expired.

While citizens are already faced with a tough decision on the ballot, the convoluted question may make picking an answer even more challenging.

The translated question on the ballot reads as follows:

"Should the plan of agreement be accepted, which was submitted by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the Eurogroup of June 25, 2015 and comprises of two parts, which constitute their unified proposal?"

"The first document is entitled 'Reforms for the Completion of the Current Program and Beyond' and the second "Preliminary Debt Sustainability Analysis.'"

The wording is raising a lot of question marks.

"I work for a bank, and even … this is not clear for me," one Greek woman told CTV News.

"A plain, everyday person is not going to be able to decide what impact this has for his everyday life. For me, this is unacceptable –- this is not a question," she added.

To make matters worse, the bailout proposal referenced in the question has already been withdrawn by European creditors, after they failed to reach an agreement with Greece before a deadline at the end of June.

Andre Gerolymatos, a professor at Simon Fraser University, said the referendum is "critical" even though the premise of the vote is "false," because a "no" vote could see Greece pushed out of the Eurozone and eventually out of the European Union.

"The government has put the people in a very stupid position," Gerolymatos told CTV News Channel. "If they vote 'no' that’s the only answer that’s actually clear and they’ll be out of the EU eventually. If they vote 'yes,' it would require a new government in power to negotiate with the Europeans."

Some Greeks say the question has become irrelevant.

"For five years we have lived this every day ... so we have decided what to choose," said one man.

Those who are leaning toward a "no" vote say they already know too well what austerity measures are like. They've been living under them since 2010.

"The 'yes' is something we already know,'"no' we don't know but we hope," said one woman.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras maintains that a "no" vote will give him more leverage at the EU bargaining table for a third bailout with better terms.

However, should the country vote in favour of further austerity, Tspiras has said he will resign.

Gerolymatos said this could cause a period of "instability" as European lenders send a cash infusion to Greek banks, but a new government would inspire "more confidence."

"This government has not been able to make any headway with the Europeans, partly because of their own incompetence and partly because of inexperience, (and) they certainly turn off the Europeans," said Gerolymatos.

He added that Greece would likely see "horrible austerity" for the next 15 to 20 years.

And because the country does not generate a significant amount of exports, which sometimes flourish during a default, Greece could be facing a long and difficult road out of economic turmoil.

"(It) is a calamity; a situation where banks will be insolvent for decades to come, where the economy will be in the doldrums for a at least a generation and no one knows when the end of that will be," said Gerolymatos.

With a report from CTV News' Daniele Hamamdjian and files from The Associated Press