Not saying I support the referendum, but it seems pretty busted that No would have won with less votes if the Yes vote turned out in more force. Even if Yes got every last vote up to that 50% turnout line it still would have been an easy No victory. Seems to me that the law should be that the winner gets at least 25% of the voter turnout (in a two way election at least), otherwise you could strategically stay home to deny the other side a victory.
That bothered me too. Even though the referendum would have clearly won with 50% turnout as well, the will of the people can be ignored since the turnout wasn't high enough. Referendum quora give too much power to minority positions to control the outcome by boycotting the vote.