Second Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras

SYRIZA of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has earned 35.3% of Sunday's early elections in Greece - the biggest share of the vote, Interior Ministry data reveals.

Current results, with 20 percent of votes counted (as of 21:30 EEST/20:30 CEST) a few hours after polls closed, also suggest a coalition government will be needed.

No sooner did the polls close that the first projected results showed that the bet had paid off for SYRIZA. If the polls are right, SYRIZA is on track to win 30-34% of the votes, winning an overall majority. A combined poll from five television station said that SYRIZA would get around 34% of the vote and New Democracy would be on a range of 28.5 to 32.4%.

Greeks are heading to the polls for the third time this year on Sunday. The government elected will lead the country as it implements the bailout deal that former prime minister Alexis Tsipras signed in August. The deal – contrary to the package of austerity measures that the majority of Greeks voted against- caused turbulence within SYRIZA.

Early voters in Greece were thin on the ground on Sept.20 to elect a government they will entrust with the daunting task of steering the country through painful bailout reforms and meeting the challenge of a growing refugee crisis. 

Voting is now underway in Greece in a snap poll called over tensions within the formerly ruling SYRIZA party of Alexis Tsipras.

Neither leftist SYRIZA nor conservative New Democracy is expected to secure a majority in Parliament, with polls suggesting the two parties are running neck-and-neck.

SYRIZA leader and former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras voted at the polling station in Kypseli, Athens.

Exiting the polling station he said that the people would take control of its future voting for a strong government with a four-year term of office that Greece needed.

Conservative New Democracy leader Vangelis Meimarakis addressed a gathering of ND’s women’s secretariat on Friday, a day after his party’s main campaign rally in Athens, whereby he launched into a stinging attack against the main rival, leftist Alexis Tsipras.

The left-wing Syriza party, led by former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, and the conservative New Democracy, led by Vangelis Meimarakis are neck-and-neck ahead of Greece's election on September 20, according to the latest polls.

Greece’s two leaders Alexis Tsipars and Vangelis Meimarakis are neck and neck in opinion polls, with elections on September 20 set to be a close call between the two. Who will win is anybody’s bet? Her’es a profile of the two…

Date of birth

A. Tsipras: July 28, 1974
V. Meimarakis: December 14, 1953

An election campaign in Greece ends on Sept.18 with opinion polls giving no clear winner, setting the stage for a cliffhanger vote on Sept.20 between the political left and right, and the near-certainty the next government will be a coalition.