Greeks vote in crunch election

Greeks have begun voting in the fifth national election in six years.

The left-wing Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras, who’s seeking re-election a month after resigning as prime minister, was out early to cast his ballot.
It was far from busy however at his polling station; a sign perhaps of people being disillusioned with a political process that has cut living standards and failed to tackle sky-high unemployment.

The leader of the conservative New Democracy party, Vangelis Meimarakis, has criticised his rival as incompetent but stated his commitment to Greece’s 86 billion euro bailout.

With neither party expected to secure the roughly 38 percent share of the vote that’s needed for a majority in the 300-seat parliament – a coalition appears a near certainty.

Talks on that would start after the results are back early on Monday.

The outcome of this election is seen as crucial beyond financially-troubled Greece, a country that was almost ejected from the euro zone earlier this year.