May 21, 2023 5:19 PM BST
Updated 11 minutes ago
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Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told reporters the results would be clear soon
Greece’s conservative Nea Dimokratia looks set to win Sunday’s elections but is well short of a majority for an overall victory, a joint election poll shows.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ party is aiming for 37.5 to 41.5 percent of the vote.
The centre-left Syriza party led by predecessor Alexis Tsipras is well behind with 23.5-27.5%.
If neither party can form a coalition, Greek voters will vote again in a second round in early July.
The joint election poll by six polling institutes was greeted with jubilation at the New Democracy headquarters in Athens.
But experts warn it could prove unreliable as many voters refused to disclose which party they backed.
One of the big winners of the election appeared to be Syriza’s socialist rival Pasok, who was estimated to receive 11.5-12.5% of the vote.
That would make the party a potential kingmaker in coalition talks with the centre-right and Syriza in the coming days.
Mr Mitsotakis’ centre-right party has governed Greece for four years and can boast that the country grew by almost 6% last year.
However, the February election campaign was overshadowed by a rail disaster that killed 57 people, including many students.
Opposition parties highlighted the disaster as a symptom of a dysfunctional state that has been stripped back to its essentials after years of economic crisis and lack of investment.
Four years ago, 40% of the vote would have been enough to secure a majority in the 300-seat Greek parliament.
More than 45% is now required as the winning party in the first round is no longer entitled to a 50 seat bonus, making a second round more likely.
Pasok leader Nikos Androulakis may struggle to work with Mr Mitsotakis in government over a wiretapping scandal last year.
Mr Androulakis believes the prime minister knew he was among dozens of people targeted with illegal spy software.
The scandal led to the resignation of a nephew of Mr Mitsotakis, who served as the prime minister’s chief of staff and head of Greece’s intelligence service.