Greek government-debt crisis

Preliminary results indicate that the conservative New Democracy of Mitsotakis has the most votes in the elections, but also that it does not have a sufficient majority to form a government on its own, Reuters reported.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose conservative party won a landslide election victory Sunday but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government, indicated he will seek a second election hoping to consolidate his victory without the need for a coalition partner.

Greek Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy, Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R), enters his party's offices , 21 May 2023. Photo EPA-EFE/GEORGE VITSARAS

After 77.27 per cent of the total votes were counted, Kyriakos Mitsotakis's New Democracy won 40.83 per cent of the votes, almost twice as much as Alexis Tsipras's SYRIZA, which won 20.10 per cent.

Greece's ruling New Democracy party was set for a crushing victory in a parliamentary election on Sunday, early results showed, defeating the opposition Syriza but likely to fall below the threshold to form a government on its own.

Exit polls in Greece's parliamentary elections show Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative party is in the lead but is unlikely to win enough seats in parliament to form a government outright.

A man with his dog casts his vote at a polling station in Athens. Greeks were voting Sunday in the first election since their country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. [AP]

• 9,813,595 million Greek citizens are eligible to vote in the elections; among them, 112,236 are new 17-year-old voters. For the first time, one day earlier, on May 20, 22,855 Greeks living abroad are eligible to vote.
• They will choose between 36 parties, 8 coalition parties, and 1 individual candidate.

Polls in Greece closed at 7 p.m. on Sunday, and the vote count so far shows incumbent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative New Democracy enjoying a double-digit lead over its main challenger, Alexis Tsipras' leftist SYRIZA party. Stay with our live blog for the most up-to-date news and developments as results come in.

Having secured their core party audience during the campaign period, party leaders are now openly addressing the voters or potential voters of the other parties, seeking to win them over.

Sunday's parliamentary election looks likely to be a dress rehearsal for a new round of voting in the busy summer tourist season - barring a surprise coalition deal by dissonant opposition parties.