Greece faces new national elections, despite the ruling party securing around 40% of the vote in Sunday's general election.
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Greece faces new national elections as early as 25 June, despite Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative party securing a 20-point margin - the largest in decades - over its opponents in Sunday's general election.
With over 99% of the votes counted, New Democracy had 40.79% of the ballots and 146 seats, five short of a majority.
Syriza won 20.07% of the vote and 71 seats, while Pasok came in third at 11.46%. Turnout was reported at 61%.
But a new electoral system of proportional representation meant Mitsotakis' vote share still was not enough to secure a majority of the 300 seats in Parliament. He has since confirmed he would not try to form a coalition government.
"I believe that there is essentially no condition for the formation of a government by this Parliament," Mitsotakis said after the general election. "And I certainly want to point out that, if the electoral system that will apply in the next elections was in effect yesterday, the New Democracy would already have a strong parliamentary majority that would exceed 170 seats."
To see how election night unfolded in Athens, and across Greece, see our live blog below:
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That's the end of our live blog for today. Thank you for joining us.
Here's a round-up of the count so far:
- With more than 95% of the votes counted, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the front runner, whose Now Democracy are ahead of rivals SYRIZA by double the number of seats.
- A second vote is likely since none of the parties managed to secure an outright majority with 50% of the total votes.
- We do not have updates from the polling stations set up in 35 countries around the world.
- The second election is likely to be held in June 25 or July 2, after constitutional procedures are completed.
- The party with the highest number of seats in the second election, if it happens, will get bonus seats – helping to form a majority government.
With less than 5% of the votes left to be counted, not much has changed.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative party has 145 seats, followed by SYRIZA's tally of 72.
Now Democracy has surpassed its 2019 tally in terms of number of votes secured.
The count is expected to be completed soon.
Early celebrations for New Democracy
Supporters of Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis shout slogans outside the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece.
Supporters of New Democracy party celebrated the party's landslide win earlier today at the main polling kiosk at Syntagma square, Athens.
Election results "extremely negative" for SYRIZA
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said the election result, that saw his party trail by 20 percentage points behind the ruling Conservatives, was “extremely negative.”
“I called [Kyriakos] Mitsotakis to congratulate him. Battles have both wins and losses. Our collective [party] bodies will convene immediately to assess the results. There will be another battle. We must immediately make all the changes that are needed," he said, speaking from SYRIZA's headquarters.
He also thanked "the thousands who honored us and the members and friends of SYRIZA for fighting this difficult electoral battle.”
Second vote to be "critical and final"
Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Progressive Alliance said the new vote will be "critical and final," adding that the electoral cycle could still topple the balance on his side.
With over 90% of the votes counted, Tsripas' SYRIZA trail leading New Democracy by double figures.
(Euronews)
Tsipras congratulates Mitsotakis on phone
Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras congatulated by telephone New Democracy leader and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on his party's victory before the latter addressed the nation, according to SYRZIA sources.
(AMNA)
Mitsotakis: "Only strong governments can proceed with bold reforms"
Kyriakos Mitsotakis has re-affirmed his intent of forming a majority government in his first address since the ballot boxes opened for counting.
"New Democracy has the endorsement of the Greek people to govern with absolute majority," he said, hinting a second election.
"Without any doubt the political earthquake makes us to accelerate our path. Only strong governments can proceed with bold reforms," he added.
Mitsotakis had appealed voters for a "strong and independent government" in his pre-election speeches.
New Democracy marching towards a win, majority unlikely
With just 20% of the votes remaining to be counted, New Democracy leads with 145 seats.
Here's the full breakdown:
NEW DEMOCRACY: 40.79%, 145 seats
SYRIZA: 20.06%, 72 seats
PASOK: 11.71%, 42 seats
KKE: 7.13%, 25 seats
GREEK SOLUTION: 4.48%, 16 seats
Other parties without a parliament seat: 15.80%
Who is Kyriakos Mitsotakis?
A former banking executive, the 55-year-old Harvard graduate was born into a political dynasty that produced a former prime minister, a former foreign minister and the current Mayor of Athens. Mitsotakis has led New Democracy — Greece's right-of-centre pole for the past half century — since 2016, steering it closer to the political centre with a pro-reform and pro-business agenda.
Elected prime minister in 2019, he has been credited with Greece's successful handling of the pandemic and of two crises with neighbouring Turkey, while overseeing high growth and job creation. But a wiretapping scandal and a railway disaster damaged his ratings.
Nevertheless, Mitsotakis has argued against any post-electoral coalition deal, saying Greece needs a strong government to ensure stability and a return to investment grade for its bonds — ending the last salient reminder of the 2009-2018 financial crisis. Going to a second election would suit him due to the seat bonus, though he's suggested that a third election might be on the cards, if needed.
(AP)
Second elections will be held on June 25, a week before the scheduled date, according to the sources from New Democracy.
(Euronews)
PASOK on the rise
Socialist party PASOK is third in the count and has gained significantly compared to the last election.
Nikos Androulakis, PASOK's leader, called it a "great day" for democracy, after the party secured 12% of the votes with about 70% of the count done.
"Today is a very big night for the democratic party. And I want to thank from the bottom of my heart every Greek woman and man who signed this very great victory today," he said in his first public statement as his party seemed on course to increase its seats in Parliament.
(Euronews)
Greek society has been rocked by a scandal involving an unprecedented number of phone taps over the past year, which appears to be one of the most significant departures from the rule of law in the country's modern history.
With Mitsotakis likely to be elected again and his recent wiretapping admission, questions over fundamental rights and privacy will be raised again.
Read more:
A second election on July 2 seems likely. It would be held under a new electoral law giving the winner a boost of up to 50 of Parliament's 300 seats, which the current system doesn't.
(AP)
Ruling party to win with 41% votes: Estimates
Kyriakos Mitsotakis' New Democracy will win the elections securing 41% of the votes while SYRIZA will get 20%, according to estimation of Greece's Ministry of Interior.
As things stand, five parties will make up the Greek parliament, and the ruling party will finish with 146 seats (5 less than the majority).
(Euronews)
Higher turnout compared to 2019
According to the Ministry of Interior, the turnout was higher than 2019 today.
57.78% of the registered voters turned out in the previous election.
SYRIZA lead in just one electoral district as New Democracy currently lead the rest of the Greece.
New Democracy ahead by a wide margin in early results
With 38% of the votes counted, ruling New Democracy have 41.1% of the total votes, double compared to SYRIZA's 20.1%.
New twist: From a five-party to an eight-party parliament
Eight parties will make it to the Greek parliament with three other parties standing the chance, according to the final exit poll.
The final exit poll standing:
NEW DEMOCRACY: 37.5-41.5%
SYRIZA: 23.5-27.5%
PASOK: 11.5-12.5%
KKE: 6.5-7.5%
GREEK SOLUTION: 4.3-5.3%
DAY25: 2.5-3.5%
FREEDOM SAILING: 2.5-3.5%
VICTORY: 2.5-3.5%
Three parties (MERA25, PLESIS ELFTERIAS and NIKI) have a 50% chance of entering the parliament.
What does the final exit poll show?
After surveys from polling stations across Greece, final exit poll puts New Democracy in a better position than the initial results.
The ruling party is projected to gain between 37.5 percent and 41.5 percent – still short of the majority.
SYRIZA's votes have lowered to 23.5% to 27.5% according to the latest result.
SYRIZA await official results
Members of the main opposition SYRIZA were quoted by local media saying they would wait for the official results before making any conclusions.
Emphasizing that the exit polls have been wrong in the past, the left-wing alliance added, "We have experience from election contests and we know that the real results can be different."
(Euronews)
What will Greece's upcoming parliament look like?
Based on the exit poll calculations, Greece's upcoming parliament might have five, six or seven parties. A party needs to secure 3% of the votes to enter the parliament.
However, leaders New Democracy will not be getting the majority based on the preliminary results. 151 seats are required for an absolute majority – the leading party stands at 121 to 125 as things stand.
Exit poll numbers indicate New Democracy and incumbent Kyriakos Mitsotakis are on course to a comfortable win, mirroring the opinion polls.
"We are waiting for the official results. The evidence shows what we were asking for – a clear victory by a margin – seems to be happening. We are waiting for the official ones," the party executives told journalists.
New Democracy in the lead
According to data, exit poll numbers range as follows:
New Democracy: 36-40%
SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance: 25-29%
PASOK-KINAL: 9.5-12.5%
Communist Party: 6-8%
Greek Solution: 3.5-5.5%
MeRA25: 2.5-4.5 %
Plefsi Eleftherias: 2.2-4.2 %
Rest of parties: 4.8-6.8%
(AMNA)
"A stable and independent government": What have the front runners promised?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis is in the lead according to the exit poll. "A stable and independent government" was what he asked of his voters.
A read on how the front runners' last appeal went:
Healthy turnout
The Minister of Internal Affairs and Organization, Michalis Stavrianoudakis, said the voter turnout until 17:00 local time, two hours before the closure of polls, was 48.76%.
57.78% of the registered voters turned out in the previous election.
New Democracy, which has been in power for four years, has received between 36 and 40% of the vote, ahead of the left-wing Syriza party of former head of government Alexis Tsipras, which has obtained between 25 and 29% of the vote, according to the local Greek TV stations.
Incumbent Mitsotakis in the lead
With the closure of polling stations, preliminary exit poll results, calculated on the basis of 80% of the total sample, have put the incumbent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the lead.
First exit poll out soon
The first exit poll is expected to be out at 19:00 local time (16:00 GMT) as soon as polling stations close. Incumbent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be watching the exit polls from the New Democracy Party's headquarters.
Greece election live coverage
Welcome to our Greece election live blog as we wait for the polls to close at 19:00 local time.
We'll be updating throughout the evening and into the early hours of Monday morning as results start to come in with the latest developments and analysis.