Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative New Democracy party look set to become the largest party in the Greek election.
But they don’t seem to be able to claim any victory.
The polling stations in Greece have now closed. And according to the polling stations, the people have voted in line with what was predicted.
New Democracy looks to be the biggest, with support of between 36 and 40 percent of the vote.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself was certain of victory when he cast his vote in Athens.
– Today we are voting for our future, for more and better jobs, for a stronger country with an important role in Europe, said the Prime Minister, who had two of his children with him in the polling station.
Former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s left-wing alternative Syriza looks set to get between 25 and 29 percent, while the socialist Pasok party gets between 9.5 and 12.5 percent.
Pasok, led by Nikos Androulaki, has been seen by analysts as a potential coalition partner for Mitsotakis, but none of the three main parties have openly said they are willing to cooperate.
Since a party or an alliance must reach 50 percent in order to govern, the preliminary figures therefore indicate that the country will go to a second round of elections early in July.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis leads conservative New Democracy. Aiming for a second term as prime minister, he has spoken of the importance of economic growth and a robust foreign policy. The 55-year-old claims the country needs a “strong man at the helm” amid the war in Ukraine and other major challenges. He has led the Conservative Party since 2016.
Alexis Tsipras leads the leftist coalition Syriza. He was the prime minister of Greece between 2015 and 2019 during some of the country’s most difficult crisis years. He is urging voters to give his party a second chance to show what it can do. Recently, he accused Mitsotakis of showering political allies and friends of the family with billions of euros.
Nikos Androulakis leads the socialist party Pasok. He has been seen by analysts as a potential coalition partner for Mitsotakis, but the chances are seen as slim after Androulakis discovered last year that he was being monitored by the state shortly before becoming party leader. Androulakis is a former member of the European Parliament and was elected party chairman in December 2021. In March, he claimed that he will only support a coalition government if neither Mitsotakis nor Tsipras becomes prime minister.
Source: AFP