Nearly 10 million Hellenic citizens called for elections this Sunday to decide Greece’s new parliament and government. They are torn between a continuum of conservatives in power, who start out as favourites, or turn to the left. Saksham 21,500 polling stations in the country have been open since morning.
According to the polls, out of a total of 35 parties presenting themselves in these general elections, only five are likely to exceed 3% of the vote, the threshold required to enter the Hellenic Parliament made up of 300 seats.
Prime Minister Kyriakos’s conservative New Democracy (ND) formation starts as favourite, with 32% of voting intentions, 6 points ahead of the leftist Syriza party led by former head of government Alexis Tsipras.
In third place, with 9%, is the Social Democrat Pasok-Kinal, followed by the Communist Party (6.5%) and the leftist MerA25 led by former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis (3.5%).
These are a choice marked by the economic situation, since last year they faced a price increase of 10%. Also, the scandal of the Secret Service listening in on politicians and journalists, or the train crash that killed 57 people, doesn’t seem to affect the conservative candidate. As a novelty, 17-year-olds vote for the first time.
Polls predict that no party will obtain the absolute majority required by law, which will result in new elections next July.
