According to polls, the Conservatives are in the lead with around 35 percent, with the leftist opposition party Syriza trailing by 7 percentage points.
Parliamentary elections began in Greece on Sunday morning. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ ruling conservative Nea Dimokratia (ND) party is the favourite. According to the polls, the left-wing opposition party Syriza, with former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras as the main candidate, is likely to be the second strongest force. In the most recent polls, Mitsotakis’ party scored around 35%, with Syriza a good 7 percentage points behind.
The approximately 9.8 million voters can choose from 36 approved parties. Polling stations close at 19:00 local time (18:00 CEST). Forecasts based on post-election polls are expected immediately afterwards. Significant projections can be expected around 20:00 (19:00 CEST).
Due to the simple proportional representation system, neither party is expected to get more than 50 percent of the vote and a coalition will need to be formed. If the parties cannot agree to form a government in 10 days, a new election would have to be held in July.
(APA)