New Democracy

Greeks were voting Sunday in the second general election in less than two months, with the conservative party in power for the last four years a strong favorite to win with a wide majority.

Party leaders have been hosting their traditional gatherings with political reporters ahead of Sunday's election.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis gathered with journalists at a cafe on Ermou Street, in central Athens, where much of the conversation was said to have focused on the upcoming election results and developments in Russia.

The game should have been over on May 21, with New Democracy's resounding victory, but our political peculiarities led to something like the penalty kicks at the end of a tied soccer match.

Voters return to the polls Sunday for a second general election in five weeks, with the conservative New Democracy front-runners eyeing a landslide win after toppling strongholds dominated by their opponents for decades.

Leader of New Democracy party Kyriakos Mitsotakis greets people at a rally in Thessaloniki, Greece, 21 June 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/ACHILLEAS CHIRAS

Almost a month ago, Mitsotakis emerged as the big winner of May 21 elections, taking 40.83 per cent of the vote and leaving his main rival, Alexis Tsipras, and the left-wing party SYRIZA far behind on 20.07 per cent.

Following is the political backdrop to Greece's parliamentary election on Sunday. Opinion polls show former Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' New Democracy party winning by a wide margin over the leftist Syriza party, which ruled in 2015-2019 at the peak of the Greek debt crisis.

May election

Former Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservatives appear set to win a repeat election in Greece on Sunday after an inconclusive vote on May 21, putting him back in office.

Migration Reform

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson speaks to the media prior to the European Home Affairs Ministers Council meeting in Luxembourg, 08 June 2023. EPA-EFE/JULIEN WARNAND

On Sunday Greeks will head to the polls for a second time in just over a month. With the election just days away, New Democracy is seeking the crucial 40% threshold that would secure a safe outright majority to form a single-party government. 

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis met on Thursday with former US president Barack Obama, who is visiting Greece and will be speaking at an event at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.