The conservative Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, claimed victory on Sunday in the legislative elections that took place in the country, referring to a “political earthquake” and admitted the possibility of a second round.
“It is proof that New Democracy [ND, o seu partido] has the authorization of the citizens to govern alone”, he said, arguing that a second round is necessary to try to guarantee an absolute majority and establish “a stable government”.
The official partial results, when more than 60% of the polling stations were counted, showed a great advantage of ND, the Greek right-wing party led by Mitsotakis over the main opposition party, Syriza (left) of former head of Government Alexis Tsipras.
After more than 61% of the votes were counted, ND obtained 40.8% of the votes cast and 145 of the 300 seats in Parliament, while Syriza obtained 20.11% and 71 seats. Pasok-Kinal, a social democrat, is credited with 12.1% and 43 deputies, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE, 7% and 25 seats) and the far-right Towards Freedom (Plefsi Eleftherias) guarantees 4.5% and 16 seats.
The elections were held according to a simple proportional vote, approved by the parliament of the previous Tsipras government (2015-2019), which revealed many uncertainties and anticipated a new electoral act for early July.
This Sunday’s vote is the first since the Greek economy was no longer under the strict supervision of international creditors who provided massive loans (bailout funds) during the decade-long so-called debt crisis.
The reform of the electoral system promoted in 2016 by Syriza reduced the minimum age to participate in the elections, from 18 to 17 years, allowing 430,000 young people between 17 and 21 to vote for the first time on this ballot.
These data place Mitsotakis on the verge of an absolute majority, but with 11 seats less than those obtained in the 2019 legislative elections. The Greek prime minister has stated that he intends to be re-elected in office for another four years, and has ruled out the possibility of forming a coalition.
All parties with more than 3% of the vote guarantee a seat on the floor, but to obtain an absolute majority (151 of the 300 seats in the Greek parliament, also known as Vouli), a party or coalition must obtain between 40% and 50% of the votes. .
In the absence of a majority in these elections, Greek voters will once again be called to the polls at the beginning of July, this time with a reinforced proportional system, according to a reform adopted by the Mitsotakis government.
The party with the most votes will again benefit from up to 50 additional seats, a system theoretically favorable to the conservative party, with Mitsotakis insisting on a stable majority similar to the one he achieved in 2019 and avoiding coalitions with other parties.
Source: TSF
